HomeMy WebLinkAbout022423 WSDOT Hood Canal Bridge Closures________________________________
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We are writing to express concerns about the planned closure Hood Canal Bridge currently scheduled for four weekends starting July 28. First, we want to acknowledge our understanding
for the need to perform the required maintenance and repair on the bridge as it is vital infrastructure to our communities.
As you are aware, summer is one of the busiest times of the year for tourism, with many visitors coming from all over the world to enjoy the respite our tranquil locations provide, and
partake in longtime attractions and events (Centrum, Wooden Boat Festival, Lavender Festival, etc.). The closure of Hood Canal Bridge will cause significant disruption to the travel
plans of these visitors, who may be unable to reach their intended destinations or may face long detours and delays.
We promote the fact that Port Ludlow is the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula from the Hood Canal Bridge and our close proximity to the Seattle metro area. As such, we are likely the
business to be most affected by this closure and road construction work.
These disruptions have already had negative impacts on our business. Wedding and their accompanying activities and room bookings are a lucrative part of our summer business and booked
years in advance. We have already lost one client due to this closure being rescheduled from the originally proposed May dates and more may follow. Our golf course patronage is dependent
on good weather. Real estate sales rely on potential buyers visiting our location and a buyer’s perception that Port Ludlow is a difficult destination to reach may drastically skew
their decision to make the Olympic Peninsula/Jefferson County their home.
There will also be far reaching consequences such as reduced visitor numbers, less lodging tax funding as July and August are the best months, lower revenues for many local businesses,
and a damaged reputation of the Olympic Peninsula as a desirable tourist destination for years to come.
By only closing on weekends, you are disproportionately affecting tourism industry businesses as well as their employees for the benefit of weekday commuters who may have the ability
to use vacation time, shift schedules to work remotely or stay at local accommodations for the short duration of the closure.
There is a considerable percent of our local workforce that lives across the Hood Canal Bridge in Kitsap County. These travelers are not all solely Monday-Friday commuters. Out of
the 100 employees on staff, 21% live in Kitsap, and more during our summer months. While it’s true tourists may have more flexibility in when they can travel or extend their trips
to cover the entire weekend, our businesses rely on having adequate staffing to support the influx. In an already challenging labor market, this will cause additional issues for our
employees and company and possibly result in loss of staff.
We are hoping you will consider exploring some alternative options that may allow for the maintenance work to be carried out with less disruption to the tourism industry by spreading
out the burden across all days of the week.
A suggestion we offer is work two weekends (Friday at 11-Monday at 4) and then two sets of weekdays (Sunday nights through Wednesday mornings) which would only impact two week-days.
We believe local hotels on both sides of the bridge would be agreeable to offering discounts for commuters on those days as occupancy is traditionally lower mid-week.
Ultimately, we understand that this is important work that needs to be done. We encourage you to consider all the feedback provided.
Our request is that a swift final decision on dates is made so we can communicate with our already scheduled guests, employees and other community stakeholders and begin mitigation plans
for limiting disruptions from this work.
Sincerely
Diana
Diana Smeland
President
The Resort at Port Ludlow
Westharbor Homes
Olympic Water & Sewer
Port Ludlow Associates, LLC
70 Breaker Lane
Port Ludlow WA 98365
direct: 360.437.8342
office: 360.437.2101
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