LONGBOAT KEY – Gulf Islands Ferry service may one day be expanded to the north end of Longboat Key, but that isn’t expected to happen in the immediate future.
Future ferry service was one of the topics discussed during the joint meeting that Manatee County and Longboat Key officials participated in on April 30 at the county administration building in downtown Bradenton.
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione said the county and the Town of Longboat Key have and will continue to discuss if, when and how the county’s Gulf Islands Ferry service might one day be expanded to Longboat Key.
Town Manager Howard Tipton said there have been preliminary discussions about using the town dock near the Mar Vista restaurant, which is also within walking distance of the Shore restaurant. Tipton plans to survey potentially impacted Longboat Key residents to gauge how they feel about a ferry stop there.
Falcione said the canal behind the Whitney Plaza along Gulf of Mexico Drive at the north end of the key is too shallow to accommodate the ferries and he doesn’t envision the ferries traveling to the residential and resort areas further south.
“We’re talking. We’re not there yet,” Falcione said, noting that county resort tax revenues would fund any dock improvements needed in Longboat Key.
FERRY INSIGHTS
Falcione also shared some general insights on the county-contracted ferry service that began in January and currently features stops at the Riverwalk Day Dock in downtown Bradenton, the Anna Maria City Pier and the Bradenton Beach Pier.
Initially operating on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the service was later expanded to include Thursday and Wednesday service. Falcione said the five-day service will continue through the month of May. Service days may be reduced during the summer months.
Falcione said county staff is working on extending ferry service to the Coquina South boat ramp by the end of the year to accommodate Manatee County residents who want to travel to Coquina Beach.
Falcione said the two 49-passenger pontoon boat ferries transport 300-350 passengers per day, weather permitting, reducing the number of automobiles traveling to the Island.
“Since we started, we’ve served about 9,000 passengers. The challenge that we face is we’ve lost 25 days due to the weather,” Falcione said.
Falcione said the county and the contracted ferry operator are researching the construction of a high speed, partially-enclosed 90-passenger ferry that would help minimize the service days suspended due to rain, wind, waves and other factors.
The larger, faster ferry would travel the Manatee River between downtown Bradenton and the Anna Maria City Pier and the two pontoon boats would then service Anna Maria Island – and potentially Longboat Key. Falcione preliminary discussions have occurred with the city of Bradenton Beach about docking the pontoon boats there overnight in that future scenario.
Falcione said it would take about a year to build the larger ferry and grants are being sought to help fund it.
Falcione also expects the ferry service to eventually be expanded to the convention center in Palmetto and the new 252-room Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa next to the convention center.
Falcione acknowledged the ferries are not yet a primary source of transportation for the Anna Maria Island workforce that commutes from the mainland – due in part to the uncertainty posed by suspended service days. He said a partially enclosed high-speed ferry might help.
“The St. Regis is going to employ a lot of folks,” County Commissioner Mike Rahm said of the new resort opening in Longboat Key at the former Colony Beach Resort location later this year.
Longboat Key Commissioner Debra Williams said Longboat Key businesses struggle to attract and retain employees because of the transportation challenges and lengthy travel times. She said workforce transportation should be the top priority and ferrying folks to restaurants should be a secondary goal.
Ferry tickets can be purchased at www.gulfcoastwatertaxi.com.
