Berkeley Is Still Debating a Ferry Line and the Future of Its Marina
Tonight the City of Berkeley will hold an online community workshop to discuss, among other things, the feasibility of a ferry line in the Berkeley Marina.
Tonight’s discussion will be part of the Berkeley Marina Specific Plan, a more than two-year planning project meant to create a path for “achieving a financially self-sustainable, publicly owned marina.” The ferry has been under consideration as a component in the marina’s financial future for nearly two years now.
It is impossible to simply dip one’s toes into a discussion of the ferry, or of the Berkeley Marina in general. The ferry has been controversial because it would change the nature of the marina from a recreational destination to a commuter hub. Exactly how much Berkeley Marina might change, and what benefits or impediments a ferry might supply, are the subject of fierce debate. (We first wrote about the pros and cons of a Berkeley ferry line in 2020.)
We’ll report back to you in the coming days and weeks about tonight’s meeting, any developments, and the various existential crises of creating a viable, publicly owned marina.
I live in Berkeley. I missed the forum, but I’m strongly opposed to adding a ferry line to the Berkeley Marina. We should not be adding more boats or ships with engines to the waters of this planet, there is already far too much of this. Douglass Adams point out decades ago that the large ocean ships make so much noise that the whales could no longer hear each other adequately, and that problem is far worse now. Same with the problem of hitting seals, sea lions, or other marine life that lives in the Bay.
Ferries are not environmentally-friendly public transit, despite the propaganda to the contrary. People crossing the Bay should be strongly encouraged to take BART, strongly discouraged from driving, and strongly encouraged to live near their work so that they don’t have to make this crossing regularly. Those are the only environmentally-friendly options.