Opinion: An open letter to Cascade Point ferry terminal proponents
Published 3:30 am Wednesday, December 3, 2025
To: Governor Dunleavy, DOT Directors, and Cascade Point ferry terminal project consultants,
Building a ferry terminal at Cascade Point would represent government at its most inept if it was simply about wasting tens of millions of dollars that could be spent improving our ferry service. But we all know it is not about ineptitude, it is about throwing money at Goldbelt Inc. and supporting nearby mining projects under the transparent ruse of improving the marine highway system. It adds insult to injury when you try to deny it.
The Marine Highway Advisory Board is solidly against the idea, as are the communities of Haines, Skagway and Juneau, the communities that will be directly impacted. Here are some of the more obvious reasons:
1. Being dropped off 43 miles from downtown Juneau will significantly impact walk-on traffic, which is how most people ride the ferry, and the people impacted the most will be those that can’t afford to put a car on the ship.
2. A decrease in walk-on traffic will mean a decrease in revenue, and the State will likely use that decrease to justify spending less on the system in the future.
3. A trip to or from Juneau will likely be more expensive after paying for the Goldbelt shuttle, and it will likely take more time due to loading/unloading and riding the bus.
4. People could get stranded at the ferry terminal or downtown if there is insufficient bus space, a problem with the shuttle bus, or an issue with road conditions. The ferry will be very unlikely to change its schedule on short notice so people could miss the sailing, which could cost hundreds of dollars for hotel rooms and meals.
5. Cab rides, if you can get one, will probably cost ~$150 each way. A cab from downtown to the Auke Bay terminal today, 1/3 of the distance, costs ~$40-45. Juneau hotels will likely limit or cancel their shuttle service altogether.
In addition to the inconvenience and extra costs, people will miss plane connections at the Juneau airport, doctor’s appointments. etc. Given the overwhelming public opposition, even from your own advisory board, it’s obvious you don’t give a damn about what would actually improve the lives of S.E. residents. You could fix the ferries we have and upgrade the existing service. Instead of throwing millions of dollars at consulting companies, engineering firms, and contractors, you could dedicate a fraction of those funds to subsidize student travel on the ferries between S.E. communities. Our schools are already being crippled by insufficient funding thanks to administration decisions and the State’s reneging on its commitment to reimburse communities for infrastructure improvements from years ago.
The Cascade Point plan, including its supposed connection to the nonsensical billion-dollar west side road is a disgrace; I wish more managers and directors at DOT had the guts to call bullshit on this fiasco.
Gershon Cohen is a resident of Haines, Alaska.
