Commuter Ferry Idea Is Worth Floating : A Conveyance--the Pacific--Already Exists, so Water Travel Deserves Consideration

If Orange County has wrapped its commute patterns around the omnipresent automobile, could the mighty Pacific provide a way to unravel some of the knot?

Full-fledged commuter runs by ocean may be a long way off, but a water-taxi operator who operates ferries in Hawaii and between LaGuardia Airport and Manhattan has recently shown some interest. He has agreed with Orange County Harbors, Beaches and Parks officials to do a ridership survey to determine the best places to set up landing facilities for a local water-taxi service.

There are more questions than answers at this point. However, the projects being discussed in these very early stages are appealing enough. And nobody will have to go to Congress or the Legislature to get pavement built; the ocean offers an appealing, if untapped, freeway.

There is early talk of short hops between such ports as Dana Point and Oceanside or Dana Point and Long Beach, or perhaps longer runs up and down the coast. With the Santa Ana Freeway being widened to handle an increasing burden, and with all the concern about alternative means of getting around, it may be that getting there by boat is an idea whose time has come. Dana Point, for example, has a ready-made marina with a new master plan that calls for a terminal for a ferry to Santa Catalina Island and a commuter shuttle.

W. T. (Ted) Gurnee, a retired career Navy officer and president of Chula Vista-based SeaJet Cruise Lines, has been talking with various governmental leaders about putting such a service in place. His survey is designed to be shared with the county to predict ridership and establish whether there is a need for commuter service on the water.

One issue to be resolved is the matter of ground transportation to work centers. For example, it is possible that Newport Beach might be one port of entry, because of its proximity to jobs in Irvine. Parking areas and a land shuttle from harbors to business centers are key issues. Obviously, a big challenge for county and municipal officials will be to help coordinate connecting transportation to the places where people must work.

Is it all just a dream? At this point, there is little more than the resolve to look into the idea further. But with increasing demands on the Interstate 5 corridor, the main artery between San Diego County and the sprawling suburbs to the north, water commute service from and between points in Orange County is an idea very much worth looking into.