Plan to Restrict Alaskan Port to five Cruise Ships a Day Takes First Step

The clerk’s workplace of an necessary metropolis in Alaska has licensed a petition that will prohibit cruise ships and passengers, if sufficient signatures are collected.
Juneau, Alaska is making an attempt once more to restrict cruise ship site visitors, and a new poll petition has been licensed. Supporters of the plan wish to put stricter guidelines in place and now want to gather 2,720 signatures by Might 19 to get the problem on the October poll.
This isn’t the primary time Juneau has checked out limiting cruise ships. Prior to now, the town has mentioned and made some modifications to deal with the growing variety of cruise passengers as Alaska has grown in recognition nearly yearly.
Nonetheless, with over 1.6 million cruise passengers visiting in each 2023 and 2024, considerations about overcrowding and different impacts have grown.
The brand new proposal consists of:
- A day by day restrict of 5 cruise ships.
- A yearly restrict of 1.5 million cruise guests.
- Each day customer limits of 16,000 on most days and 12,000 on Saturdays.
- A shorter cruise season, from Might to September (at present April to October).
Metropolis officers accepted the petition regardless of opposition from Allen Marine Excursions, who argued the plan was poorly written.
An legal professional from the tour firm stated the plan was “wholly insufficient in making an attempt to deal with the complexity of limiting, allowing, and penalizing cruise ship visitation.”
This push to restrict cruise ships occurs as Juneau residents are additionally contemplating different poll measures about property taxes, gross sales taxes on meals and utilities, and voting guidelines.
Getting virtually 3,000 signatures by mid-Might isn’t any small feat, particularly contemplating Juneau’s inhabitants is simply over 30,000.
This petition is likely to be a protracted shot, but it surely positively reveals {that a} respectable quantity of Juneau residents should not proud of the present state of affairs with cruise site visitors, whilst a substantial variety of companies depend on it to outlive. We’ll be monitoring this case carefully.