The Elyria Chronicle Telegram ran the following article today. The Lorain Port Authority has landed a $600,000 grant to bring ferry boats and water taxis to the Black River. This is a great idea if it is marketed properly, and would fit well with the other planned projects in downtown Lorain. I would urge them to reconsider the pricing, though. $20 is a bit high for a water taxi. A river cruise is one thing, but if it is just to cross the river or go out to the lighthouse, that is too much.

Story from the Wednesday, August 10, 2005  Edition of the Chronicle Telegram

Federal aid jump-starts Lorain ferry boat plan

Shawn Foucher
The Chronicle-Telegram
LORAIN — The director of the Lorain Port Authority looked distinctly satisfied Tuesday, as if he just discovered the secret to walking on water. But walking on water is not what Rick Novak and the Port Authority board have in mind.

Novak and the board are thinking boats, and a $600,000 federal grant is a giant step toward those goals.

The grant, included in this year’s federal transportation bill, will go toward the purchase of two high-speed ferry boats that will carry tourists to hotspots along the Lake Erie coastline.

“This is a culmination of taking advantage of all the modes of transportation Lorain has to offer,” he said.

The high-speed ferry boats could cost as much as $4 million brand-spanking new, but Novak hopes the Port Authority can locate used boats to reduce the cost.
The Black River Landing in Lorain would be the base of operation, and the service could pull in tourists from all over Ohio, Novak said.

“This is a step in the right direction,” he said. “The $600,000 is a start toward having a ferry service to the Lake Erie islands, Cleveland, Port Clinton … and Cedar Point.”

And while the christening of such an undertaking is at least a year or more down the road, Novak said the federal grant — which the Port Authority learned July 29 had been awarded — will plant the seeds for additional funding.

“Now we can start to look at other sources of funding through the federal government,” he said.
The Port board conceptualized the ferry plans some 10 years ago when members were hammering out a wish list, Novak said.

A similar boat — the Jet Express — is already used to transport island-hoppers from the Port Clinton and Sandusky ports to Put-in-Bay and other Erie islands, traveling up to 40 mph.
But the two high-speed watercrafts aren’t the only vessels the Port Authority is pinning its hopes on. Novak said that as early as next spring, two water taxis will be docked at Black River Landing.

“They would go to the Lorain Lighthouse or across the river during events, or even tours up the river,” Novak said. “The MetroParks naturalists could be on board for excursions up the river.”

The Port Authority had to dig $50,000 from its own pockets to help purchase the two water taxis, which together cost $250,000. The other $200,000 came from a federal grant the Port received last year.

Both taxis will be about 28 feet long, one carrying 20 and the other up to 25 people.

“They could be up next spring or summer,” Novak said. “It all depends on who we get to manufacture them.”

The agency likely will outsource operation of the boats.

“We can enter into an agreement with (a company) to serve as operators,” Novak said. “We have four or five different companies we can negotiate with.” The water taxis will operate from May to October.
The $600,000 grant that the Port received from the 2006 Transportation Equity Act was procured by U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, one of 10 projects that made up the $13 million in funds Brown helped acquire for his district.

The second grant can be used to improve “peripheral” elements for the Port’s proposed trolley system, according to Brown’s office.

Novak said the Lorain Trolley would cost the Port about $4 million, and would first run from 21st Street to the lake.

“Initially we’ll have it by the river, but we hope to put it right on Broadway Avenue,” Novak said. While the city uses its $600,000 Broadway reconstruction grant to tackle the streets improvements, elements that will be conducive to a trolley system are also being taken into account, such as electrical and lighting.

The cost to ride the trolley could be as little as $1, while the Black River water taxi would cost about $20 a person. Novak said the Port Authority hasn’t discussed potential costs for the high-speed ferry boats, but costs for comparable services — such as the Jet Express in Port Clinton — are $11.

“It’s too premature to tell how much it’ll be,” Novak said. “But we want to make it affordable for people.”

Lorain also received a $600,000 grant to spruce up Broadway Avenue, including lights, roads, sidewalks and electrical systems.