At its regular meeting last week, members of the Wrangell Port Commission decided against allowing casual traffic through The Marine Service Center yard.
Effective immediately, access to the boatyard has been restricted with entry limited to one gate. The action follows several months of discussions, with the issue first coming to the attention of commissioners in June.
“There’s a really big safety issue with people being able to come and go as they please,” explained commission chair Clay Hammer.
Since its start a decade ago, Wrangell’s yard has been a curiosity not just to residents but visitors, with its lifts, propped up vessels and industrial activity drawing spectators. The boatyard reached nationwide attention with National Geographic’s show “The Yard,” which featured the site alongside other shipyards around the country.
Earlier attempts to film activity for a show at Wrangell’s MSC in 2014 were not picked up, but the managing Harbor Department has expressed a desire not to allow television crews on site again in future. Speaking in June, harbormaster Greg Meissner complained they had been disruptive to activity, stopping traffic or at times imposing on other ongoing work projects.
Documentarians are not the only unwanted visitors to the yard. Vehicular traffic using it as a shortcut between the gates near City Market and Rayme’s Bar have been disruptive to freight and lift traffic, and an assortment of pedestrians and bicyclists have made their way through. Not all use the yard as a throughway, but some venture further into the yard either to pass time or watch vendors at work.
“There’s been a number of times when pedestrians have been in the middle of the yard,” Hammer said, referring to conversations had with contractors and employees at the site.
One forklift operator recounted shifting a load of crates for a local freight line. Fortunately when going into reverse, Hammer said the operator had been aware of his surroundings and so noticed a woman with a stroller and her children watching from just behind.
“It really freaked the operator out,” Hammer said.
Similar experiences have been had by harbor staff running the boat lifts, with vehicles sometimes trying to outmaneuver the heavily-laden equipment during operations, at times interrupting movement and creating the potential for serious accidents.
Tour operators have added to the mix, with two outfits running buses through the yard during the summer. At Harbor’s request, this spring the city issued letters to two of them, Gold Rush Tours and Alaska Waters, requesting they cease such tours.
There have been no accidents from the traffic as of yet, and commissioners wanted to be receptive to the interests of the tour groups, who have at past meetings made the case that Wrangell’s yard is a unique attraction. But Hammer pointed out the yard is primarily meant for marine industrial projects, and after discussions the Port Commission has agreed it ought to remain the focus.
With the closure of excess gates and the addition of signage, the commission hopes to dissuade people from paying the yard unnecessary visits.
“Hopefully they would respect the fact that it is a restricted area,” said Hammer. “If we could cut down on about 90 percent of that, that would go a long ways towards making it a lot safer.”
Particulars of the new limitations are being worked out, and an arrangement permitting tour groups restricted access within certain time frames is still an option. As far as further restricting access to the yard, at the moment the installation of automatic or electronic security gates is thought to be both potentially too expensive and hassling for boatyard contractors and their clients.
“We’re trying to make it work without making it overly cumbersome,” Hammer said.
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