Greenport ferry line improving: A few bugs to be worked out 

It’s likely most people who have used North Ferry since the redesign of the access line to board boats on the Greenport side are seeing significantly positive improvements.

Among the most prominent change so far, said Heights Property Owners Corporation General Manager Stella Lagudis, is an end to drivers being able to cut into the boarding line from Third Street, aggravating drivers who prior to the new lanes being opened have been in line on Wiggins Street for lengthy periods of time.

For Greenporters who live on Wiggins Street, they are already fewer times when the boarding line sometimes block driveways. Moving the traffic along smoothly should also result in less wear and tear on Greenport roadways, Ms. Lagudis said.

There are still changes ahead to improve the situation, including signage and familiarity with the new system on the part of North Ferry staff and drivers, she said. At the same time, she acknowledged there will occasionally be times when the lines extend onto Wiggins Street.

With only a few weeks since the new system began, at rush hours all five of the new lanes are open and crews are learning to handle five queues instead of one. But at off hours, there is generally only need for opening one or two lanes to accommodate vehicles and a few have been seen on Wiggins Street for a few minutes, Ms. Lagudis said.

“The goal was to get as much traffic off Wiggins as possible, but no one can promise that Wiggins will never see ferry traffic again,” she said. “We also hope to automate the boarding process later down the road.” 

The crew is still getting used to the new pattern, Ms. Lagudis said. “Captains have had to change the manner in which they load the vessels, and traffic personnel, which has doubled since the project began and continues to add cost to our operation, is developing the most efficient manner in which to manage five lanes instead of one,” she said. 

On Thursdays, truck days could see five to 10 trucks in a row resulting in the overlap, she said. With the old system, passenger vehicles could be routed around the trucks. But that won’t always be possible with the new system.

The trucks are generally there for deliveries to the Island and sometimes use North Ferry to avoid heavier traffic on the South Fork. That can happen with volume that sometimes results from a South Fork accident impeding travel there. Also, an ambulance call takes precedence over any other traffic. North and South ferries accommodate those runs that can hold up regular boarding. 

Heavy fog or a boat taken out of service for repairs can have a similar effect on lines.

Signage is ordered that will improve the effectiveness of the new system, Ms. Lagudis said. In the interim, the crews are doing their best to adjust to the new arrangements.

The majority of funds for the queue redesign came from a Federal Highway Administration’s Ferry Boat Program, allocating funds every two years based on the number of vehicles and passengers using ferry services. The program is a division of the United States Transportation Department and is administered in New York by the State Transportation Department.

Greenport Village bonded the $3.1 million project with the grant that will cover 80% of the cost, while the other 20% must be covered locally. It’s a grant North Ferry couldn’t seek because the company is privately owned, Ms. Lagudis said.

The work has been done by Corazzini Asphalt operated by Rich Corazzini; the project was completed 56 days earlier than promised, Mayor Kevin Stuessi said.