Grant Money Will Help Fund Revitalization of Larkspur, Sausalito Ferry Terminals

SAN FRANCISCO, CA- Golden Gate Ferry has received a $2.2 million federal grant to upgrade two of its ferries and landing facilities.

"The grant provides much-needed money to modify the M.S. Marin and M.V. Napa so they integrate well with the landing facilities," Golden Gate Ferry Deputy General Manager Jim Swindler.

The ferryboat renovations will be completed over the coming years, Swindler said. The federal Department of Transportation awarded the discretionary grant through its Passenger Ferry Grant Program.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District's Larkspur, Sausalito and San Francisco ferry terminals are more than 40 years old and need repair and rehabilitation, District spokeswoman Priya David Clemens said. The plan to revitalize aging vessels and terminals began in 2009.

It includes replacing the boarding facilities with new passenger boarding systems that provide more efficient and comfortable loading and disembarking of the vessels for commuters, bicyclists and passengers who have limited mobility, Clemens said. The improvements will include new ramps, floats and other terminal improvements in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the United States Access Board's Passenger Vessel Accessibility Guidelines.

The new boarding system standardizes loading and unloading of vessels through two doorways on the main deck that will greatly increase efficiency. The District has three Spaulding class vessels and four high-speed catamaran type vessels. All the ferries must be modified with standard doorways at the main deck and supports for the new standard gangplanks that extend from the new boarding floats, Clemens said.

A hydraulically driven gangplank that telescopes out to and is supported by the vessel and increases efficiency of main deck loading on the new floats will provide access to the ferries, Clemens said.

– By Bay City News, Image via Golden Gate Ferry