September 20, 2012

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Hosts Open House for Public Review and Comment on Project to Install New Golden Gate Sausalito Ferry Vessel Boarding System

When: Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 6 pm to 8 pm

Where: Sausalito City Hall Chambers, 420 Litho Street, Sausalito, CA

To Comment: Attend Open House, or via email: ferryboarding@goldengate.org or in writing to: District Secretary, GGBHTD, PO Box 9000, Presidio Station, San Francisco, CA 94129-0601. Comments are being accepted during a 30-day period from September 19 through October 19, 2012, at 4:30 pm.

Review Initial Study (PDF version) or in Person: GGBHTD Administration Building, Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza, San Francisco, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays, or at the Sausalito Main Library, 420 Litho Street, Sausalito, CA.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD) is planning to replace the existing passenger boarding system at the Golden Gate Sausalito Ferry Terminal at Anchor Street and Tracy Way in Sausalito, CA with a new boarding system.

	Existing Vessel Boarding System	Proposed Vessel Boarding System
FLOAT (in the water)	110 feet long × 42 feet wide steel float	New 150 feet long by 53 feet wide concrete float
GANGWAY (extends from street level down to vessel landing)	75 feet long × 5 feet wide steel gangway	New 90 feet long × 19 feet wide steel gangway
PIER (in water)	8-foot and 9-foot-wide pile-supported timber and concrete pier	New 25-foot-wide pile-supported concrete pier
OVER WATER COVERAGE OF FACILITY	Approx. 8,000 square feet	Approx. 13,650 square feet

The new boarding system will improve operations by providing a wider, more modern facility with reduced gangway slopes and float platforms for easier boarding and unloading of all passengers, including bicyclists and persons with disabilities, during all tide conditions. The new vessel boarding system will not change the current passenger capacity in the Golden Gate Sausalito Ferry Terminal landing area.

To maintain regularly scheduled ferry service for both Golden Gate and Blue and Gold Fleet during construction, a temporary ferry vessel boarding configuration will be used for about is six months. Trenching will occur for a distance of approximately 30 feet, to extend utilities to the new facilities. There is no dredging is associated with the construction.

The GGBHTD is serving as the Lead Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and intends to adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project. An Initial Study has been prepared for the proposed project. The Initial Study identified potentially significant impacts associated with the project related to air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, and noise. Each of these impacts would be mitigated to less-than-significant levels with implementation of the identified mitigation measures, which are included as part of the project.

For transit information to the Open House location, visit www.511.org or call 511 (711 TDD). The public meeting location is accessible to everyone. To request special assistance due to a disability at this public meeting, please call the District Secretary’s Office at (415) 923-2223 three days before the meeting date.