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Imagine commuting to downtown Portland not via the traffic-filled I-5 freeway, but rather through a clean and fast form of river transportation. As a student, you might not need to do this on a daily basis, but what if you could take a ferry to your friend’s house in Milwaukie, or across the river to Vancouver? This is the vision of Friends Of Frog Ferry, a nonprofit organization that is making this vision a reality through funding from the Federal Transportation Administration. Frog Ferry board chair James Paulson said, “We know ferries are a proven, time and cost efficient, and climate-friendly means to build stronger and more equitable communities,” and Frog Ferry are planning on beginning their pilot project right here, in our community between St. Johns and downtown Portland.
I had the pleasure of attending one of Frog Ferry’s River Runs as a representative of Voices Of Roosevelt, and it was an amazing experience. Despite the wind and rain, actually being on the river I see every day was remarkable. After arriving at the Cathedral Park dock on Baltimore street, I was enthusiastically greeted by Susan Bladholm, the founder and president of Frog Ferry who invited us to imagine we were commuters departing from the North Peninsula. With this frame of mind I boarded the ferry along with a little more than 20 other community members, Frog Ferry personnel, and press from local newspapers. I opted to stand outside of the covered cabin to get some great pictures, and was able to see the St. Johns, Fremont, and Broadway bridges from a new angle. Traveling at 22 knots, or about 27 miles per hour across the water had me thinking, I’ve lived in Portland my entire life yet have never been on the Willamette River! Frog Ferry will soon give Portlanders the chance to have this experience, creating a stronger Portland community and encouraging better stewardship of our natural resources.
New experiences aren’t the only advantages of a ferry system coming to Portland. By first implementing a pilot ferry that runs on biodiesel (which is 80% cleaner than regular diesel), then a fully electrified fleet Frog Ferry is doing its part to get hundreds of gas-guzzling cars off the road. This will have the effect of lowering the level of air pollution in the I-5 corridor, an impact that especially affects North Portland. Frog Ferry will also educate Portlanders about river ecology and Native American history along the Willamette River. A ferry service between communities along the river and downtown can also help revitalize the south waterfront. With stops planned for both RiverPlace and Salmon Street downtown, Frog Ferry is expected to bring more people to downtown Portland. “Despite Portland facing a myriad of challenges, our community needs an inspiring new reason to come downtown,” said James Paulson. As a cherry on top, Frog Ferry will provide more opportunities for people to get out on the Willamette River, an experience that I like many other people in Portland hadn’t had until Frog Ferry came along.
The Frog Ferry Pilot Project would operate one 70-passenger ferry between Cathedral Park and RiverPlace downtown. Planned for operation beginning in 2025, this “demonstration project” will connect commuters in downtown St. Johns to downtown Portland, with the 700 OHSU employees living on the North Peninsula being a major target demographic for ferry transportation. Of the 545 surveyed in St. Johns, 78% of respondents said they would be interested in taking a ferry to OHSU. In other words, St. Johns has exhibited a very strong positive response to the idea of a ferry operating between our neighborhood and downtown. This trip from Cathedral Park to RiverPlace takes 25 minutes, as opposed to the hour-long commute for some workers downtown. Bicyclists are also a group that would be well served by a ferry operation between St. Johns and RiverPlace. With this pilot project, the ferry will serve about 800 people per day, taking 600 cars per day off the road, easing congestion in the I-5 corridor. The Frog Ferry is both a faster and cleaner way to get downtown and beyond.
Frog Ferry plans on expanding to 10 stops between Vancouver and Oregon City, connecting the valley through convenient and green transportation. A ticket is planned to cost $3.50 for the pilot route. They hope to get 20% of their funding from private investors like Daimler, and 80% from the federal government through the Federal Transportation Administration’s 300 million dollars in funds for electric ferries nationwide. But they need the city’s help in securing this federal funding. To date, the Portland City Council has invested only 90 thousand dollars of the 11 million dollar cost of operating the pilot ferry for one year. Federal funding is available due to the Infrastructure bill passed by congress in 2021, Frog Ferry just needs the help of the City of Portland to access this funding.
This is where you come in. If you see value in a ferry operation between St. Johns, downtown Portland, and beyond, please contact your local elected officials. Frog Ferry has a list of who to contact on their website, frogferry.com, which includes Mayor Ted Wheeler. Together as a St. Johns community with Frog Ferry, we can leap toward a faster, cleaner, and more fun transportation future.
By Bobby Hamblin
Roosevelt High School
Published May 25, 2023
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