Editor,

Here we go again!

The Washington State Department of Transportation is proposing another ferry increase and potential implementation of a reservation system. I continue to be amazed that more ferry commuters aren’t opposed to yearly increases in fares even when the Mulkiteo and Clinton run is self-sustaining. Perhaps residents aren’t aware of these proposals.

The waste and mismanagement of the ferry system as well as WSDOT has been exposed by various news organizations over the past few years and yet no one questions why ferry fare increases have been implemented on a yearly basis. When will this hike end? Can we expect further raises in 2017, 2018, 2019, etc.? Will only the very rich be able to live on the islands?

The ferry system is part of the highway system, but the assessed ferry fares are considered separately. Please take the time to protest — loudly. Call your legislators (Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton; Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor; and Rep. David Hays, R-Camano) and provide the feedback before the fares are set on a trajectory of continual rise. Whidbey Island residents have fought reservations in years past; we must do so again if you believe, as I do, that reservations will end up being an obstruction to flexibility, tourism and economic development. And by the way, bicycles and walk on passengers are nice but they do not service the needs of the many, especially considering the aged and the need to travel to different and further locations in and around Seattle.

PAULETTE BECKER

Langley

Editor’s note: A reservation system on the Clinton-to-Mukilteo ferry route is not currently proposed.