DES MOINES, Wash. — Starting Aug. 10, there will be a new way to get from Des Moines to Seattle and it does not involve any freeways or traffic.
The new fast ferry will take four times a day from the Des Moines Marina, Wednesday through Sunday.
The ferry will leave Des Moines Marina at 10:00 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Southbound trips will leave Seattle at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 pm.
It’s currently just a two-month pilot program to see how it’ll work for the city.
“You know there’s something special about the sound and about having the opportunity to be out on the water,” said Michael Mattias, Des Moines City Manager.
Mattias has been part of the team working on the plan to bring a passenger ferry to Des Moines for years.
It came from a demand study done by the city that showed interest for an alternative way of travel to and from Seattle.
“Providing an opportunity for people to come here, experience the marina and all the positive aspects that come from being associated with Puget Sound and travel," Mattias said. "It also plays into our strategy for multimodal transportation."
The passenger ferry will take off from Des Moines Marina and end in Bell Harbor Marina, right in downtown Seattle.
It’s a 40 minutes sailing and it costs $10 each way.
The program starts Aug. 10 and ends Oct. 9.
It’s run by the city and will cost about $500,000 for the two-month operation.
“We’re doing this ourselves; we’re not using other people’s money," Mattias said. "It’s a decision our city council, which tends to be very forward looking in terms of the future of this city, provided the opportunity for us to spend the money to do this to see what the results are. We’re kind of casting the net into the water and seeing what we come up back with. Everyone says, ‘great idea,’ okay, proof’s in the pudding, right?”
Harbormaster Scott Wilkins looks forward to having more people visit his hometown.
“Bringing these people in to show what Des Moines has... it’s going to bring light to our city,” Wilkins said.
He and Mattias are hopeful the ferry will be here to stay.
“I hope we honestly get the positive feedback from all the riders at both ends the people that come from Seattle to here and enjoy our city and everything it has to offer ad vice versa,” Wilkins said.
“We are very conscious about our relationship with the sound and for people to be able to come and enjoy that and see that aspect of life in our region, is something we’re really excited about” Matthias said.
The city is partnering with Highline School District to provide paid internships for students.
Those students will help with the operations of the ferry.