Note: A story on the proposed fast-ferry system scheduled for a vote in the Nov. 8 elections carried several errors and misattributions. The corrected story is below:

By MARK BRIANT

mbriant@soundpublishing.com

Kitsap Transit has rolled out a more sophisticated, viewer-friendly website design in its effort to present information to the public regarding the fast ferry, passenger-only proposal in time for the Nov. 8 general election.

Carla Sawyer, fast-ferry project manager for Kitsap Transit, said their study of web analytics with the older website uncovered a surprising trend: People were visiting the home page, but not delving any deeper into the site to see what the interior pages held. “That turns out to be a real trend,” Sawyer said.

“So we needed a site that would provide all of the key information on the plan on a single page.”

The result is a visually appealing home page that includes all of the major elements of the plan, without the need to click multiple layers down to get a clear idea of aspects of the plan. The URL is www.kitsapferries.com.

The proposal seeks public funding to build a fleet of smaller, lighter ferries that would, among other benefits, cut an hour off a round-trip on the Bremerton-to-Seattle run. The new ferries would take advantage of new technology, largely developed and perfected on Puget Sound. The older style of boat left a deep and powerful wake, and residents in Rich Passage sued the state to slow the ferries down as they moved through the narrow passage.

This reduced shoreline damage caused by the big boats, but it meant that slower cross-Sound passage times rendered the passenger-only ferry an unattractive option. Demand withered to the point that WSF finally cancelled the  service.

The new generation of boats leaves little wake, which means they don’t need to reduce speed going through Rich Passage, according to Kitsap Transit executive director John Clauson.

The prototype boat is, in fact, named Rich Passage I. Should the measure pass, each of the five future boats in the fleet will feature specific design elements tailored to the individual needs of route to which the boat will be assigned.

The ballot measure asks for an increase to the local sales tax of 3/10ths of a cent. This equates to an additional 3 cents on a $10 purchase. Kitsap Transit estimates it will cost the average Kitsap Peninsula family $59 per year.

The final version of the site officially launched on Sept. 1. Besides easing navigation, Sawyer says, it also contains several share features, so that a reader can share with friends or post to one of the many social media sites.

One of the biggest things informing the need for a clean, simple site was something that emerged in prior public polling, and took everyone by surprise. A survey showed that only 4 of 10 Kitsap residents had ever even heard of the ballot measure, let alone understood its components or benefits. “Hopefully this will allow us to do a better job of getting the word out to the public,” Sawyer said.

The website can be reached at www.kitsapferries.com.