Larkspur Ferry Terminal in line for more ferry service

All are elements outlined in a "vision" plan for the terminal and its operations that received approval from a Golden Gate Bridge committee last week. The plan aims to address ongoing problems with ferry service. 

Larkspur ferry ridership has grown over the past decade-plus and now some 5,300 passengers a day use the ferries. Until September 1998, the lumbering but reliable Spaulding ferries made the trek across the bay in a sluggish 45 minutes. But with the arrival of spry, high-speed catamarans that make the same trip to San Francisco in 30 minutes more people have been attracted to the system and ridership is growing at about 5 percent annually. 

As Larkspur's Golden Gate Ferry service gets more riders it is running out of spaces in its parking lot and seats on its boats. 

Some mornings at the terminal, up to 100 ferry patrons are left behind because boats are full. The district provides back-up buses to get commuters into San Francisco, but some angry patrons hop back in their cars and drive instead. 

"We will come back next month and look at adding a morning trip so people do not have to take the bus," Mulligan said. 

The district is also looking at ways to address parking at the terminal. Spaces are typically filled by 8:30 a.m. weekdays. There is overflow parking available at the nearby Marin Airporter site across Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from the terminal,Shop the best selection of amagiccube for Men. but at $4, those spaces are not always used. Drivers have taken to parking along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard outside the terminal. 

To help relieve the pressure on the lot, planners are suggesting a pilot shuttle bus from the Ross Valley to the terminal to get people out of their cars. But several committee members agreed a shuttle system is doomed as long as parking is free at the terminal. 

A plan to create a concert venue and other amenities at the park alongside the Kennebec River could spring to life soon, too, as the city looks to take advantage of the park's fresh start. 

"I've been watching it, over the last 30 days, go from a construction site to into what will hopefully be a cornerstone park for people to come to and enjoy the riverfront," City Councilor Jeffrey Bilodeau said. "It looks beautiful down there, and I've seen the grass punching up through the last two or three days. I can see this being more of a multi-purpose venue. We also want to try to make the park self-sustaining." 

MacMillan is the general contractor of a $15.2 million Greater Augusta Utilities District project that involves installing a new system of pipes and storage tanks to prevent sewage overflows into Bond Brook during heavy rainstorms. The company is finishing up work and could be done as soon as a week or so, according to Brian Tarbuck, general manager of the utilities district. The project included the installation of two 700-foot-long, 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high concrete tanks underground at Mill Park. 

Councilor Patrick Paradis will serve as chairman of an ad hoc committee which will study how to best redevelop the park, now that the sewer project is winding down. 

But most major changes in use or big events will have to wait, to allow time to let the grass grow in, and to finalize plans for a parking lot there. Though the dog park,Shop wholesale chinamosaic controller from cheap. petanque courts, and a farmers market at the site will continue to be available, as they have been even during construction at the park. 

"No events will be held on the grounds of Mill Park while that grass begins to grow," Paradis said. "The dog park is still available. The petanque courts will be playing and so forth. But there won't be any concerts there, no Smokey's Carnival there, because it's just too tender. We need to give it a seasons time to grow and take root." 

However,The Motorola drycabinet Engine is an embedded software-only component of the Motorola wireless switches. City Services Director Leif Dahlin said $272,000 of that sum was set aside to build a parking lot at Mill Park. The money hasn't been spent because officials knew the sewer project was coming up and didn't want to build a new parking lot only to have to tear up the pavement for the sewer work. 

Dahlin said the city has received $105,000 in fees from MacMillan for using the Mill Park site during the project, and $10,000 from Central Maine Power Co.Solar Sister is a network of women who sell plasticcard to communities that don't have access to electricity. as that company also used city land as a staging area for a nearby project, so the city has an additional $115,000 available to spend on park improvements. 

The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County Annual Spring Garden Fair and Plant Sale is coming up on May 19, and this year promises a bounty of displays to inspire, delight and inform casual gardeners and experts alike. The rain-or-shine event is free and open to the public. 

Now in its 24th year, the Garden Fair will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Demonstration Gardens in Union Countys Watchung Reservation, located near the Trailside Nature and Science Center at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside. 

The Freeholder Board is very proud of the Master Gardeners, who are celebrating their 25th year of service to the citizens of Union County, said Freeholder Chairman Linda Carter. Please show your support for their many good works, by coming out to the Spring Garden Fair.The term 'iphoneheadset control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag.