A pedestrian ferry proposed by the that would — and include a shuttle route through East Hampton and Bridgehampton — got an informal vote of confidence Tuesday night from the Sag Harbor Village Board, reports.
In a straw poll, a majority of board members, including Mayor Brian Gilbride, said they are in favor of amending village law to allow the ferry to operate from the . Meanwhile, on the north side, reports that Response Marine owner Jim Ryan, who is working with the Hampton Jitney toward establishing ferry service, is asking the Greenport Village Board for letter of consent backing the ferry.
The has already endorsed a trial run of the ferry, according to The Express.
Learn more at sagharboronline.com.
Several Patch readers have already weighed in on the proposal:
commented, "This is a fabulous addition to the two forks. This will allow day-trips between the two villages without the need for vehicles. You can even take the shuttle into East Hampton or Bridgehampton, it just gets better! I can see this helping the local merchants on both forks and that leads to a better economy for everyone. I will take advantage of this venue for an easy half day get-away. It is like a mini-vacation to be able to explore the South Fork when you can carve some time out of the busy daily schedule!"
said, "Do the math, folks. Two people, round trip, same day, new passenger ferry: $40. Two people, round trip, same day, WITH A CAR: $34. Do I hear P.T. Barnum chuckling from the grave?"
said, "Overall it isn't about the cost of the car ferries v. the cost of the pedestrian ride and sounds like a very nice way to go back and forth. it is only "great news" if people get off the train and walk on. It is a stinker if people expect to drive to either village, park somewhere??? and leave the car for the day. Solve that problem - of adding a parked car to villages already with acute parking shortages, and you have a winner."
commented, "Great idea for all. but why the shuttle? there already is a country bus which goes between Bridge, Sag and East H. Seems like an expense which will lead to failure early on and we need the ferry for both villages."
said, "Sag Harbor can't handle more summer traffic on Long Wharf, pedestrian or vehicular. in all reality very few, if any, will take the shuttles to points South. I mean, really! Friends will get picked up in, guess what, CARS! Greenport's 'transportation hub' is poorly designed to handle anything more than the Shelter Island ferry traffic it does now. And with the potential re-installation of parking meters on Main Street, the limited free parking there will be gobbled up by shopkeepers and employees. This hub also would not serve as a useful connection point to anything except the Jitney, since the LIRR runs only about three times a day."
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