Vermont Public Radio Friday August 15, 2008
Sarah Ashworth
Colchester, VT
(Host) The Colchester Causeway Bike Ferry will run three additional days this summer, and organizers say they have even bigger plans for the future. The pontoon boat transports bikers, runners, and walkers across a 200 foot gap in the causeway that extends between Colchester and South Hero. On August weekends, the Burlington non-profit, Local Motion, operates the 3 minute ferry.
Brian Costello is the Bike Ferry operations manager, and says people sometimes wait an hour to get on the boat.
(Costello) "People are thrilled for the opportunity to get across to Grand Isle, it just opens up another county of bicycling. And, it's just a unique place to be, it's a place generally reserved for boaters, the middle of the lake, so without a boat, you can get on your bike and just be out here in the middle of the lake.
(Host) Local Motion Executive Director Chapin Spencer says he has plans to make the ferry a permanent fixture in the lake:
(Spencer) "The challenge we face now is to amass the resources and to take it to the next level, so it can run daily, so more people, residents and tourists alike can enjoy in this spectacular location."
(Host) Spencer says Local Motion hopes to begin a fundraiser this winter, and have daily service up and running by next year's Lake Champlain Quadricentennial celebration.
The Bike Ferry runs each weekend in August, and also on Labor Day, from 10 to 6, rain or shine. A $5 donation is encouraged.
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