KINGSTON — Washington State Ferries officials presented their idea of what the future holds for the Kingston ferry terminal to a packed house at the Apple Tree Cove Yacht Club Wednesday night.

“This is a draft plan for revision, discussion and comment,” WSF Planning Director Raymond Deardorf told the audience as he highlighted the plan’s key components.

Ridership on the Kingston-Edmonds route is expected to increase by 70 percent in the next 25 years, Deardorf said.

Although vehicles will play a role in that increase, passenger-only service will likely see an even greater boost, he said.

“That’s not part of the WSF plan for service, but would be done by a local or private operator,” he said.

A third boat will be added to the Kingston-Edmonds route in the summer of 2010 and year-round in 2012, Deardorf said. A fourth boat will be added in 2023.

Instead of jumbo boats, the new vessels will be Issaquah-Class ferries to meet the service need and create less of a burden on local roads, he said.

When a third boat was added to the Bainbridge Island-Seattle route in the summer of 1999, state ferry officials learned a valuable lesson, he said.

“Because of navigational concerns we couldn’t schedule the boats correctly, which led to traffic problems on (State Route) 305,” Deardorf said, noting that by adding a couple of smaller boats instead of one larger boat, officials hope to allow ferry traffic to dissipate through Kingston without creating any major congestion.

However, for the long-range plan to come to fruition, the ferry system will need additional tax support above and beyond what it has received in the past, he said.

“We’re also counting on getting more and more of our costs covered by the fare box,” Deardorf said.

After listening to Deardorf’s presentation, Kingston resident Sonny Woodward said one of his major concerns with the plan isn’t at the ferry terminal, but where the terminal ends.

“What happens to traffic once it leaves the ferry?” Woodward asked. “I would like to see (Washington State Department of Transportation officials) with you next time.”

At the next meeting it would be helpful if WSDOT officials could explain their plans for roads like State Highway 104 as well as addressing pedestrian and bicycle issues, Woodward said.

Deardorf said the next meeting will occur sometime in the fall, after the public input has been incorporated into the plan.

State officials are accepting comments on the plan through the end of May. The plan can be viewed on the state ferries’ Web site: www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/planning. Comments can be e-mailed to wsfplanning@wsdot.wa.gov or mailed to Hadley Greene, Washington State Ferries, Customer and Community Relations, 2901 Third Avenue, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98121.