ICE CREAM, 1960s REFERENCES and a sunny day brought out many residents to celebrate the water shuttle Woodstock’s one year anniversary in Alameda over the weekend.
The city of Alameda organized a small celebration in honor of the small ferry, which connects people between Bohol Circle Immigrant Park in Alameda and Jack London Square in Oakland.
The boat can hold around 31 passengers, but maximum capacity depends on the number of bikes and strollers that take up space on the vessel as well as the discretion of the crew.
Woodstock, the famous 1969 music festival, served as a source of artistic inspiration for the theme of the little ferry’s birthday party.
On a plastic table with paper flowers strung out along its sides were “groovy” decorations and party accessories for riders to enjoy. Tie-dyed ducks lined up at the dock entrance, while rosy colored glasses and party hats were donned by passengers.
Members of the city’s staff wearing tie-dyed shirts helped to pass out empty sugar ice cream cones right before they boarded the water shuttle.
“We’re giving you a cone on one side, and then when you get to the other side, you’ll get your scoop of ice cream,” said Alameda’s communications director Sarah Henry. “You have to ride the shuttle party on the boat with us and then get your ice cream.”
Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft greeted every rider with a giant smile as she quipped, “I am not going across for anything specific but to get ice cream.”
Just like Ashcraft, Henry went along the entire line of passengers waiting to board, greeted them, offered cone party hats, and answered questions.
She said the city was very excited to celebrate a successful transportation initiative.
“You’re getting a reduction in traffic. You have an incredible five-minute journey across the estuary,” said Henry. “But really, it’s getting people out of their cars and onto the water shuttle. That’s the biggest benefit.”
Within one year, the ferry has transported over 100,000 people — which for a ferry that can only carry up to 31 people per trip means a lot of people have been using the service.
Katie Schultz and her partner Brian Mario leaned their bikes along the railing as they waited with their two kids for the next shuttle to arrive.
Both parents said they like to bike but don’t often go to Oakland because it can be difficult logistically to get across. Mario said he had traveled through the Webster and Posey tunnels and felt like the small sidewalks next to the speeding cars were dangerous.
“I’ve done it one time, and I was like, really tight and I hate it and it’s terrifying,” said Mario.
Schultz said it was nice to take the shuttle because it was convenient, and it was easy to convince the kids to wait with her while they played at the playground.
On Sunday, their children entertained themselves with the plastic ducks and politely asked for ice cream. Although they had not left the Alameda side, organizers still encouraged people to get ice cream to cool off from the heat.
“Can I get a scoop of ube and a scoop of rainbow sorbet please? For me and my sister,” said 7-year-old Nova to Stephen Zimmerman, co-owner of Tucker’s Ice Cream, a local Alameda shop.
Zimmerman gave Nova and other passengers free pastel purple ube ice cream and several flavors of colorful sorbets as a sweet treat to commemorate the occasion.
Strollers were also popular among the travelers, considering the vessel had been retrofitted to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs and other mobility needs.
Ashely Creen excitedly posed her toddler, Oliver, with Mayor Ashcraft right before they boarded the Woodstock.
Creen said she does not use the vessel for work but will regularly travel for recreational purposes, such as traveling for Giants games in downtown San Francisco or spending time with family in Oakland.
“We love this little shuttle. Sometimes me and Oliver will just walk over here from our house and just go across, just for fun and come back, and we just like being on the water, and it’s like a lovely little service,” said Creen.
She hopes the Woodstock remains as a link for transit and would love to see it continue being safe and clean.
The shuttle is made possible through grants and partnerships between the city of Alameda, the San Francisco Bay Ferry, the Bay Area Air Quality Measurement District, and the Alameda County Transportation Commission, among other sources.
Henry said two more years of funding the shuttle have been approved and she hopes this not only maintains operations but also helps to expand service.
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