ANNA MARIA – Manatee County officials are developing scenarios to install a permanent, county-funded landing between the Anna Maria City Pier and the Lake La Vista jetty for the Gulf Islands Ferry.
On Feb. 27, Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short informed city commissioners of the county’s efforts to develop and install a new stand-alone ferry landing to accommodate the new, larger and partially enclosed ferry boat the county plans to put in service later this summer.
The new ferry boat will have nearly twice the capacity of the two 49-foot pontoon boats that currently operate between the Riverwalk Day Dock in downtown Bradenton and the Bradenton Beach Pier three to four days per week.
Using the now-destroyed boat landing at the T-end of the City Pier, the downtown Bradenton to Anna Maria Gulf Islands Ferry service began in January 2024 and a month later was expanded to include Bradenton Beach. Anna Maria ferry service was discontinued after Hurricane Milton wiped out a 75- to 100-yard section of the City Pier walkway in early October. The City Pier remains closed for the foreseeable future and will not reopen until the missing walkway that connects to the T-end of the pier is replaced.
When the new boat joins the Gulf Islands Ferry fleet, it will be used to make the Manatee River run between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island. The two original pontoon boats will then be used exclusively to shuttle passengers between the Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach ferry landings; and maybe someday to the Kingfish Boat Ramp in Holmes Beach as well.
In late October, the state provided the county with a temporary ferry landing that consisted of a spud barge and a walkway that connected to the Anna Maria shoreline, but the wind, waves, water depth and weather conditions left the ferry captains leery of using the temporary landing even after additional spud barges were installed. In January, the state demobilized the privately-owned spud barges provided as part of the state’s hurricane response.
New scenario
Due to the size of the new ferry boat, the idea of a stand-alone ferry landing in Anna Maria predates the 2024 hurricanes. During the Feb. 27 meeting, Short said when the City Pier is repaired and reopened it will not be able to accommodate the larger ferry boat.
The agenda packet for that day’s meeting contained a single-page diagram of the ferry landing concept being developed by county officials and those assisting them.
“What you see is one scenario,” Short said. “They are working on other scenarios. This is not the only thing they’re looking at but this is one scenario they have actually taken to a point of putting on paper. They want to be able to land this boat near the city of Anna Maria.”
Short said the county hired a third-party firm to study the wave action, wave heights, currents and sand movement in that area. He noted the scenario presented includes extending the rock jetty further out into Tampa Bay and installing a wall-like wave attenuator that protects the landing area from the waves and currents that present navigational challenges in those waters.
Short told county officials they must appear at a city meeting and present their proposed plans to the commission and the public before the commission will consider approving the county’s request to build a stand-alone ferry landing that connects to the Anna Maria shoreline.
Short said he would share additional details with the commission as they become available.
Commissioner Chris Arendt asked Short if the county would assume the city’s current financial responsibility to periodically dredge the channel the connects Lake La Vista and Tampa Bay. Short said the county is studying the dredging needs that might exist in that area and dredging may be needed where the ferry landing would be built.
Short also noted the city previously received a $75,000 resiliency grant and is seeking additional grant funds for a yet-to-be-initiated study that would help identify a long-term solution that eliminates the need to dredge the channel every four years or so.
