Fauntleroy dock signal delayed until fall
Published 10:30 am Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Islanders and other riders on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route will have to wait at least until fall for a much-anticipated traffic signal at the Fauntleroy dock.
As recently as October, Washington State Ferries was saying the light would be installed this spring. But last month, in response to an inquiry, WSF revealed that work won’t start until after Labor Day.
In an email, spokeswoman Dana Warr attributed the delay to “some internal staff resource issues, delays with City [of Seattle] plan review and approval, and other minor delays.”
WSF plans to advertise for bids for the project March 30, Warr said, but the agency wants to wait to begin construction until after the peak summer travel season to minimize disruption.
Contractors should be on site, doing concrete work and installing the signal pole and its horizontal arms, between September and December, she said.
The intersection where the signal will be installed – the “T” where the ferry dock meets Fauntleroy Way Southwest – can become a big bottleneck when ferries unload and no off-duty police officer is present to direct traffic.
With no signal, each vehicle driving off the boat and down the dock must stop at the intersection, then wait for a gap in traffic to turn right or left. Cars and trucks often back up in the dock’s two exit lanes, sometimes all the way to the ferry.
Vehicles waiting on the dock to board the boat to sail back to Vashon and Southworth can’t load. Departures are delayed, schedules thrown off.
WSF officials say the signal will both alleviate that operational headache and eliminate a safety hazard.
The signal would be activated only when ferries are unloading. At other times, the light would be green for traffic on Fauntleroy Way, flashing red for the few vehicles coming down the dock.
When a ferry arrives, the signal would detect unloading vehicles and turn green for them while a red light stops traffic on Fauntleroy.
At times, not all unloading vehicles would get through the intersection during that first green phase. They’d have to wait through a red light while backups on northbound and southbound Fauntleroy Way clear.
But WSF officials say unloading traffic shouldn’t back up so far down the dock during those waits that it interferes with ferry loading.
A WSF representative estimated last fall that the project would cost between $1 million and $2 million. While WSF is designing and paying for the signal, Seattle’s Department of Transportation will own and operate it.
As part of the signal project, WSF plans to make two changes in how the intersection operates:
Left turns onto northbound Fauntleroy Way from the dock’s right exit lane no longer will be permitted. They’re officially prohibited now, WSF says, but some drivers make such turns anyway.
Left turns from northbound Fauntleroy Way toward the toll booths and onto the dock will be prohibited at all times. Terminal workers already bar them during busier periods by placing traffic cones and signs on sandwich boards in the intersection.
Eric Pryne is a retired Seattle Times journalist whose many beats at the newspaper included transportation.
