Forget About Ferries - Study says water taxis might be nice, however

A final draft of the Long Island Sound Waterborne Transportation Plan has dropped recommendations for further study of new ferries here - except for a water taxi service between Montauk, Greenport, and Orient, and Sag Harbor and Greenport.

The original transportation plan prompted concern in East Hampton when it raised the idea of cross-sound and local ferry service, for vehicles and passengers, with terminals at Napeague, Fort Pond Bay, or Lake Montauk.

Consultants were commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, the Greater Bridgeport (Conn.) Regional Planning Agency, and the South Western Regional Planning Agency to examine use of the water surrounding Connecticut and Long Island as a regional transportation "asset" that could be used to help address critical transportation needs.

East Hampton residents and officials had attended a Southold meeting on the transportation plan to express opposition to even considering the use of Fort Pond Bay, Napeague, or Montauk Harbor for any ferry operations, prompting the consultants to review more carefully the proposed use of the sites.

The town has banned new vehicle ferries and passenger ferries that can cruise at more than 20 knots, based on studies showing how they could increase traffic. But representatives of other East End towns, including Shelter Island and Southold, which have joined the Cross Sound Ferry company in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban, protested that the study should nonetheless examine the potential usefulness of new ferries on the South Fork.

Members of the East Hampton Town Board declared victory at a work session on Tuesday upon review of a memo by JoAnne Pahwul, the assistant town planning director, on the final draft of the study.

"We were able to get this report to say what we already knew about our town," said Councilman Pete Hammerle. "I also personally speculate that this may assist us in some of our litigious matters," he added. Ms. Pahwul has forwarded the transportation plan to the town attorneys.

The conclusion, in the final draft of the plan, is that "further consideration" of the Napeague and Fort Pond Bay sites is "not recommended."

The study acknowledges the "presence of prohibitive zoning, potentially incompatible residential land uses, and marine environmental sensitivity" on Napeague.

The former fish factory site on Cranberry Hole Road, now owned by New York State, is too far from hamlet centers for a water taxi operation, "because there is nowhere to walk," the study says, and "substantial highway improvements would be needed to support a conventional ferry."

Although the report says that "there is excellent potential for the site to develop into a multifunctional terminal," "enormous capital improvements" would be needed for its development, and, it says, projected demand for additional passenger ferry service between the South Fork and Connecticut "appears to fall well short of the levels needed to support a major investment . . . and to mitigate its negative impacts."

An analysis of a potential ferry terminal at Tuthill Road on Fort Pond Bay in Montauk concluded that "there simply isn't enough room on the site," according to the report.

Increased runs between Montauk and New London, now offered occasionally by the Viking Fleet from its Montauk Harbor dock, would not have sufficient ridership, the study says. The Viking company is suing East Hampton Town over its ferry laws.

An "Inner Forks water" taxi traversing a circuitous route with stops at Orient Point, Greenport, Riverhead, Shinnecock Inlet, Sag Harbor, and Montauk would be "unlikely to generate significant demand" due to the distances and travel times involved, says the report. However, direct routes between Montauk and Orient, and Montauk and Greenport could cut travel time.

Although the report acknowledges the opposition by East Hampton representatives to expanding any ferry service in Montauk, it suggests that the idea of a limited water taxi be studied further, since it could conform to zoning and operating restrictions and "does appear to have the potential to provide a transportation service that could benefit both the North and South Fork."

A Sag Harbor-to-Greenport water taxi, while not examined in the Waterborne Transportation Plan, also merits further study, the report says. "The Sag Harbor Village Long Wharf is an excellent location for a pedestrian-oriented water taxi service from a land use, marine operation, and landside access perspective."

Use of the Viking dock at Lake Montauk for a water taxi terminal would require installation of a floating landing barge, dredging, and other site improvements that would cost over $3 million, however, according to the consultants' estimates. "One key unresolved issue is traffic and parking," the study adds.

"That water gets pretty rough out there," said Supervisor McGintee on Tuesday. He expressed concern about operating small ferryboats in and out of Montauk Harbor "in light of what just happened up there in Lake George." Earlier this week, a tour boat overturned on the upstate lake, resulting in the death of 20 passengers.