Ways of dealing with the six- to-eight week Hood Canal Bridge closure in 2006 don’t include a vehicle ferry — and fail to adequately address the short and long-term negative impacts on tourism.
That’s the assessment of Tim Caldwell, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce general manager.
“The impact (of the closure) will be felt on the first day the headlines say, ‘Bridge closed,”‘ Caldwell said in an address to the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce’s weekly luncheon meeting Monday.
So far mitigation plans seem geared more to moving people off the Olympic Peninsula than accommodating travelers to the Peninsula, he said.
Caldwell said there is little doubt the bridge closure will scare tourists into seeking other destinations — and there will be a negative “hangover effect” even after the bridge is reopened.
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