Sitka at a ‘tipping point’ as residents grapple with impact of tourism

Traffic successful downtown Sitka connected a engaged cruise vessel time successful June. (Jeb Sharp/KCAW)

Sitka’s summertime tourism play is successful afloat plaything pinch numbers expected to beryllium close to past year’s record-breaking 585,000 cruise visitors. On a fistful of days nan number of visitors will transcend Sitka’s ain organization of astir 8,000.

On a engaged time successful June, nan standard of nan arena was connected afloat display. Lincoln Street was closed, group streamed up and down nan steps of St. Michael’s Cathedral, buses rumbled successful and retired of nan parking batch astatine Harrigan Centennial Hall.

In beforehand of nan library, Daina Bauman of Minneapolis tied a container of salmon onto nan backmost of her rented e-bike successful mentation for nan thrust backmost retired to nan Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. She was emotion bully astir her family’s determination to book e-bikes online earlier arriving successful Sitka.

“I conscionable deliberation it’s awesome we didn’t person to beryllium connected nan autobus and hold successful line,” Bauman said. “They said, ‘Go early because there’s going to beryllium different cruise vessel pinch immoderate 4,000 group showing up.’ We sewage successful and out, we’ll conscionable zip backmost and we’re done.”

Bauman was walking pinch her girl Lexi and mother Rita Skurupijs.

“Thank heavens for nan motorcycle path,” Skurupijs said, arsenic she contemplated nan six-mile thrust backmost retired to nan Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal successful an unprotected motorcycle lane. “But of people erstwhile nan large buses walk it’s a small nervy.”

A mates blocks distant Sitka resident Rachel Jones was leaving Highliner Coffee, shepherding 3 kids connected regular bikes. 

“I’m surely not opposed to nan tourism manufacture astatine all, but it decidedly does effect really we building our time erstwhile nan cruise ships are successful town,” Jones said.

She and her family unrecorded downtown adjacent Crescent Harbor. When it’s quiet nan kids tin thrust astir by themselves but connected dense cruise vessel days she accompanies them. It’s a batch to navigate: scooters, pedestrians, buses, extremity lights.

“The number of things your encephalon needs to juggle feels overmuch much for illustration trying to thrust bikes successful a city,” Jones said.

Jones sees tourism arsenic a awesome economical engine, noting that she herself benefits arsenic nan proprietor of an Airbnb unit.  She likes nan truth that cruise vessel visitors show up successful nan greeting and time off successful nan afternoon, making Sitka consciousness very livable nan remainder of nan time. 

Not everyone is truthful optimistic. Klaudia Leccese grew up successful Sitka and has fond memories of waterskiing astir cruise ships and learning to thrust a skiff successful their wake. But what’s happening now is simply a different scale, pinch much crowds, buses, e-bikes, noise, pollution. Leccese is president of nan defense group Small Town Soul, which wants to headdress nan number of cruise vessel visitors astatine 300,000 a year. That’s astir half what Sitka will acquisition this year.

“Everyone successful nan Small Town Soul group supports cruise tourism,” Leccese said. “We conscionable consciousness for illustration location needs to beryllium a limit.”

So acold nan group has tried 3 times, unsuccessfully, to get a limit earlier Sitka voters. From Leccese’s location you get a consciousness of what she’s trying to protect. The model of her surviving room looks retired connected Sitka Sound and Mt. Edgecumbe. She treasures everything astir nan landscape.

Klaudia Leccese of Small Town Soul astatine her location connected Cascade Creek Road. (Jeb Sharp/KCAW)

“The quietness, nan wildness, I’ve been raised subsistence hunting and sportfishing and gathering truthful there’s thing for each season,” Leccese said. “I really wealth being unsocial successful bays and connected trails.”

Leccese tin consciousness nan unit connected those quiet places these days, whether she’s stuck successful postulation aliases retired moving connected nan Cross Trail aliases sportfishing on nan coast. There are much group and vehicles and boats wherever she goes. 

Out astatine nan Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal there’s nary denying nan hubbub. On a engaged time nan installation is live pinch ships, visitors, vehicles, retail, food. The enticing aroma of roast nuts greets you arsenic you enter. Chris McGraw is nan proprietor and wide head and nan main unit down nan detonation successful cruise vessel numbers successful Sitka. After nan metropolis voted down a nationalist heavy h2o dock his family business built a backstage one.

“It’s been a activity successful advancement since 2011,” McGraw said. “The much ships we’ve gotten, you study to adjust, study things you request to add, study to expand.”

A batch of McGraw’s situation is logistics: moving group smoothly astir town. 

“Wednesday we had 6,200 group here,” McGraw said. “How do you woody pinch 6,200 group that travel successful astatine 8 o’clock and time off astatine 5 o’clock and get them to do what they want for nan day. How do you do that without impacting nan mean section who wants to thrust to activity and spell to luncheon and travel home. And really do you minimize that impact?”

A visitant relaxes astatine nan Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. (Jeb Sharp/KCAW)

McGraw sat connected Sitka’s tourism task unit truthful he’s acquainted pinch nan problems group cite. He’s moving connected various fixes: dispersing visitors, a cleaner autobus fleet, a berthing argumentation of nary much than 1 ample vessel and 1 mean vessel connected immoderate 1 day. But he doesn’t want strict limits connected visitant numbers.

“I’m opposed to immoderate difficult caps,” McGraw said.

McGraw’s liking is evident but he argues nan economical benefits spell acold beyond his ain business. You tin spot that successful nan startups crossed nan thoroughfare from nan terminal wherever nan Sitka Tribe of Alaska houses an economical improvement center. There’s agency space, a commercialized kitchen, a bike-and-hike business, scuba diving, e-bike rentals, pitchy skis rentals, a four-wheeling venture, a storage for merchants astatine nan cruise vessel terminal.

“This is simply a hustling, bustling small place,” Sitka Tribe of Alaska Economic Development Director Camille Ferguson said.

Ferguson’s appraisal is that Sitka is still gearing up to grip nan influx of visitors.

“There’s a batch of tired group retired there,” Ferguson said. “A batch of group putting successful agelong hours and trying to support up. That’s benignant of what I feel. And I cognize that I’m not nan only 1 that feels that way. We are ace engaged and we look guardant to nan days erstwhile we tin person a time off.”

Amy Ainslee, head of readying and organization improvement for nan City and Borough of Sitka, sees this infinitesimal arsenic nan modulation betwixt reacting to tourism and managing tourism.

“I deliberation astir what does Sitka look for illustration for nan adjacent mates years, and what does tourism look successful Sitka for nan adjacent 5 to 10 years,” Ainslee said. “Because we’re successful immoderate ways benignant of astatine this tipping point.”

The Sitka Assembly is now moving connected nan recommendations of its tourism task force. That includes figuring retired to modulate e-bikes and what areas aliases activities require typical permits and really permits and locations should beryllium doled retired for Sitka’s burgeoning nutrient motortruck scene. Another large action point is to discuss a memorandum of knowing pinch nan cruise manufacture complete visitant numbers. 

“I deliberation there’s been a batch of earnest effort to perceive from nan organization and to effort to find nan equilibrium constituent that useful for everybody,” Ainslee said. “But I don’t deliberation it’s ever going to consciousness that measurement because it’s a really polarized issue.” 

As nan hunt for that equilibrium constituent continues, Sitkans for illustration Rachel Jones are adjusting to nan caller normal. 

“You cognize I deliberation you conscionable person to adapt,” Jones said. “It’s going to beryllium happening for a while. I sewage to municipality correct erstwhile nan chat astir whether nan municipality should put successful a heavy h2o dock was happening and I understand why that didn’t happen, but if you don’t do it successful a measurement that’s sewage nationalist power past you don’t person nationalist control. I deliberation it’s conscionable an ongoing conversation.”