James Chiron, Dailymail.Com and The Associated Press July 8, 2024, 02:27 AM Updated July 8, 2024, 02:27 AM
Voters in Alaska’s capital city could pass a measure that would severely restrict cruise ship docks, a potential victory for local residents who have long complained about a steady influx of tourists.
If the bill passes on Oct. 1, cruise ships carrying more than 250 passengers will be banned from docking in Juneau on Saturday, preventing hordes of tourists from seeing wonders like the rapidly melting Mendenhall Glacier.
There will also be a ban on boats on the Fourth of July, when locals gather downtown for a popular parade.
The “Saturday boat ban” proposal is eligible to be put to a vote this week, but there is a slim chance that local councils could enact it before it goes to the vote.
Many of Juneau’s 32,000 residents, a city accessible only by water or air, are tired of increased traffic, crowded hiking trails and the frequent noise of tourist helicopters ferrying visitors to Mendenhall Glacier and other glaciers.
A cruise ship is seen docked near downtown Juneau along Alaska’s Gastineau Channel on June 7, 2023. Voters in Alaska’s capital city could decide in October whether to ban large cruise ships from sailing on Saturdays starting next year.
Longtime resident Deborah Craig supports Saturdays when the ship doesn’t dock, as she lives across the channel where the ship docks and is particularly affected by the hustle and bustle of tourism.
Almost every morning, she hears the foghorn and the passenger radio announcements.
She said the “overwhelming” number of visitors has overshadowed what she and others who have lived in Juneau for decades love.
“This is about protecting the lifestyle that allows us to continue to live in Juneau: clean air, clean water, pristine surroundings, easy access to trails, easy access to water sports and nature,” she said of the effort.
“There’s a perception that some people don’t welcome tourists, but that’s not the case at all,” Craig added.
“It’s a matter of volume. There’s too much. Too much happening in a short amount of time, and it overwhelms a small community.”
The current cruise season runs from early April to late October.
Opponents of the measure argue that limiting tourists on peak days like Saturdays will reduce foot traffic and hurt local businesses, adding that the city could be sued if the measure passes.
People take in the view of Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau on June 8, 2023. A vast view of downtown Juneau, located on the Gastineau Strait waterfront.
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They pointed out that voter-imposed limits on the number of passengers on cruise ships in Bar Harbor, Maine, were challenged in federal court last year.
Laura McDonnell, owner of Caribou Crossings gift shop in downtown Juneau, said 98 percent of her sales come during the summer season.
Tourism is about “local businesses that depend on cruise ship passengers and our place in the community,” said McDonnell, who is involved with Protect Juneau’s Future, a group that opposes the plan.
With the region’s economic problems rife and schools closing due to declining enrollment, McDonnell said voters who support the measure should seriously reconsider their position.
“I think as a community we really need to think about what’s at stake for our economy,” she said. “We’re not in a position to scale back our economy.”
The cruise industry will account for $375 million in direct spending in Juneau in 2023, with the majority of that coming from passenger spending, according to a report prepared for Juneau by McKinley Research Group LLC.
The slopes of Mendenhall Glacier are seen from along the Mount McGinnis Trail in Juneau, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. The glacier flows into Mendenhall Lake. A cruise ship departs from downtown Juneau along Gastineau Channel on June 7, 2023.
After a two-year lull in the pandemic, cruise passenger numbers in Juneau are surging, hitting a record of more than 1.6 million in 2023.
According to this year’s schedule, Sept. 21 will be the first day since early May that no large ships will come to town.
The debate between those who want to preserve Juneau’s quiet beauty, like Craig, and those who are preoccupied with business, like McDonnell, is likely to rage in the months leading up to the vote.
So the city has been trying to find a middle ground, said Alexandra Pierce, Juneau’s tourism industry director.
She added that regional solutions need to be found, not just ones tailored to Juneau.
She explained that if the Juneau Resolution passes, it will impact small towns and cities in Southeast Alaska because ships leaving Seattle and Vancouver, Canada, will have to go elsewhere if they can’t dock in Juneau on Saturday.
But smaller communities like Sitka, a volcano-filled city south of Juneau, have also voiced support for restricting cruise ships.
The compromise Juneau is trying to make would be to strike deals with larger cruise ships to reduce the number of ships themselves.
A close-up of downtown Juneau, showing the Harley Davidson shop.
The city, Carnival, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Group have agreed to limit large ships to five calls per day.
The restrictions took effect this year.
The two countries also recently signed an agreement to limit the number of passengers on cruise ships to 16,000 on Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays, due to come into effect by 2026.
Pierce said the overall goal is to keep total cruise ship passenger numbers for the summer at around 1.6 million and smooth out the number of daily visitors, which can spike to as few as 18,000 on the busiest days.
She said past peak days had left her feeling “a little stifled.”
Rene Limoges-Reeve, vice president of government and community relations for Cruise Lines International Association Alaska, an industry group, said the agreement between the city and the cruise line is the first of its kind in Alaska.
The cruise ship will dock in downtown Juneau on June 9, 2023.
The group Protect Juneau’s Future, led by local business leaders, said the ballot measure would result in lost sales tax revenue and millions of dollars in direct spending by cruise ship passengers.
The group’s steering committee said in a statement they are confident voters will reject the bill.
Carla Hart, a proponent of the initiative and a frequent critic of the cruise industry, said the threat of litigation has so far prevented communities from taking steps to limit cruise ship numbers.
She pointed to several big legal victories this year for defendants in lawsuits brought by businesses challenging a similar measure passed in Bar Harbor, a popular tourist destination near Acadia National Park in Maine.
Hart believes the bill will pass in Juneau.
“Everyone who votes has first-hand experience and knows how the cruise industry impacts their lives,” she said.
