Feds nix stimulus funding for Lynn ferry

LYNN – Boston-bound commuters hoping to take a ferry from Lynn better keep their eyes on the road.City officials learned Friday that the $8.4 million in anticipated American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for the Lynn ferry terminal project on Blossom Street will not be awarded.Despite the setback, state Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Jeffrey Mullan and Acting General Manager William Mitchell Jr. sent a Jan. 15 letter to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in support of the project.The DOT administrators noted that the ferry project “is fully permitted, has a reliable cost estimate and can be built within the ARRA time frame. It is also an important economic development project for the city of Lynn, providing new transit service to Boston for residents on the North Shore and playing a critical role in providing access to the waterfront. It will put people to work today and support job growth in the future. For these reasons, we continue to support the Lynn ferry project.”The DOT cannot move forward with the ferry terminal construction without the federal funds.FTA Regional Administrator Richard H. Doyle in a Jan. 13 letter to the DOT said his agency reviewed the project, visited the site and determined it should not receive ARRA funds. Doyle’s letter took issue with many of the reasons cited by Lynn, state and DOT officials to justify the ferry.According to the FTA, contrary to what ferry proponents and studies contend, a Lynn commuter ferry would not run as an alternative to the Salem commuter ferry. “It is unlikely that both routes would be run simultaneously unless one proved to be unexpectedly successful,” the letter stated.Further, the FTA found many Lynn residents use the Blue Line rapid transit rail that connects Revere to Boston because of its fare and frequency of service. A one-way ride on the ferry would have cost $5.40, while a round-trip subway trip is $4 before a Charlie Card discount.The FTA also observed that “the total number of Lynn residents employed at South Boston locations within convenient walking distance of the World Trade Center Pier is about 200 at most. With a very high, 50-percent share, a boat from Lynn would capture no more than 100 of these.”Additionally, the FTA noted that the ferry dock site in Lynn presents commuters with “a challenging vehicle access issue. The raised median along Route 1A (Lynnway) presents a physical barrier for potential riders traveling south to access Blossom Street. In order to access the site, potential riders must reverse direction along Route 1A. Potential transit patrons must travel approximately 500 feet past Blossom Street, make a U turn at the next lighted intersection and then travel north along Route 1A to arrive at Blossom Street.”Based on these observations, the FTA decided that the ferry project does not warrant ARRA funding. The agency recommended that the project proponents update the existing plans and studies.”It’s very disappointing that this project hit a roadblock at this point,” state Sen. Thomas McGee, the project’s spearhead at the State House, said Friday. “A lot of people believe in it. We will continue to work to make it a reality.”McGee said the deficiencies highlighted by the FTA would be addressed. “Final approval was at the FTA level and there are questions related to the study,” he said. “That information is a reflection of the reality of the project. We got to see what the deficiencies are from the federal perspective.”The senator said he discussed the FTA decision Friday with Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, who continues to support the Lynn ferry. “We have already invested $750,000 in this project and it was moving forward,” McGee said. “You have to be cautious on these things until the money is actually in hand, but we thought everybody was on board – the governor, the lieutenant governor and Congressman John Tierney.”Only days before last November’s municipal election in Lynn, then-Mayor Edward Clancy Jr. joined