(Host) Commuters who use the ferry to cross Lake Champlain between Charlotte and Essex, New York are concerned about a possible disruption in service this coming winter season.
Last year, Lake Champlain Transportation began running a temporary ferry service further south – at the site of the demolished Champlain Bridge between Crown Point and West Addison.
Adding the new route forced the company to shuffle its limited number of ferries that can operate in winter conditions. And it meant the regular route between Charlotte and Essex was left without an ice breaker ferry, so LCT had to stop service for six weeks while the lake was iced over.
This year, LCT says it will run a ferry at the Charlotte crossing for a long as conditions permit.
Andy Buchanan, of Essex, New York, is organizing a meeting about the ferry crossing. He says he can understand why the company had to stop service last year. But he says LCT has had a year to plan and he wants assurances the ferry will run throughout this winter season.
(Buchanan) "The Essex-Charlotte ferry really is "the bridge" for people who live in the middle part of the lake and losing it is the same burden to us as the Crown Point bridge was to residents in that area last year. So it’s a very serious situation."
(Host) Buchanan says the ferry company has received a new ice breaker and should be able to keep all its routes open.
But Lake Champlain Transportation says the new boat will be used to fill in for other ferries as they need maintenance. Operations Manager Heather Stewart says the company has a limited number of boats and they’re providing the best service they can to as many people as possible:
(Stewart) "We are going to run as long as possible, ice conditions permitting. What we’ve got is the Governor Aiken and she is a good winter boat, but she is not designed for running through ice. So we’ve got that set up this winter and we’ll go as long as we can. And then if ice does come, we’ll start up as soon as we can."
(Host) Stewart says the Essex ferry carries about 150 cars per day in winter, while the Crown Point ferry gets 1,500.
Concerned ferry users will be meeting with local representatives at the Essex, New York firehouse tonight at 5:30 to voice their concerns.
Lake Champlain Transportation officials say they won’t be attending the meeting.