Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry passengers might just get their priority-boarding passes after all.
Bolivar developer Crown Team Texas and the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce are pooling their resources to “jump start” the priority-boarding program that would create a priority-boarding lane on the Bolivar-Galveston Ferry.
Crown Team Texas, a gulf Coast waterfront developer, is volunteering to pay the non-refundable $50 deposit per person for anyone who is interested in obtaining a pass for the potential priority-boarding lane.
Ferry users would be granted unlimited access to the lane if a minimum of 500 priority-boarding applications is received.
The problem is that about 300 applications had been received and more was needed to make the boarding lane a reality. And officials with the department of transportation, unaware of the offer to pay the deposit, seem convinced the application process isn’t working. Mark Cross, public information officer, described the situation as a “stalemate.”
The development company asserted that the reason for the fee donations is to help stem the flow of traffic in the area. Traffic continues to increase as residential development on Bolivar Peninsula becomes more prevalent, the release said. Company officials said they are also trying to provide for residents who need quick access to the ferry for emergencies.
A $50 per vehicle deposit and this completed form are required to apply for a priority boarding sticker. At least 500 priority boarding deposit applications must be received before construction of priority boarding lanes will begin. When construction is complete, priority boarding stickers will be offered for sale.
The Galveston - Port Bolivar ferry is the bridge between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island. The free ferry service provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) is the only way motorists can cross the waterway. The additional lane and ferry that will be included with the priority boarding pass program will significantly help the Bolivar Peninsula community.
The Bolivar community asks for all Texans to consider applying for the pass. Since the application fee will be paid for by our leading developer, what we are asking for is a moment of your time. Please consider helping our community, you have our many thanks - The Bolivar Chamber of Commerce.
The ferry service is critical to the residents of the Bolivar Peninsula when a hurricane threatens. The ferries are the primary means of evacuation through Galveston to the causeway and the mainland. Ferries continue crossing the channel until high winds and tides make their mission unsafe.
Crown Team Developer Jim Hayes and partners have spent nearly $30 million in the past three years acquiring and developing land and infrastructure. They see the investment as a down payment on the peninsula’s future. Hayes and partners own nearly 8,000 acres. They are developing three luxury waterfront projects that ultimately will yield more than 500 resort homes on the peninsula.
Crown Team Texas also has a factory on the peninsula where workers build fortified houses on concrete stilts. They are certified by the I.B.H.S to stand up to hurricane winds and flooding. Hayes’ influence on the slow-paced, seasonal peninsula is inescapable. Almost everyone knows him or has heard of him. “Some people love me; some people hate me,” Hayes said. “I’m changing their world.”
Allco, an affiliate of Crown Team Texas, has developed a sewer treatment plant to accommodate residential development. Bolivar residents have access to a water system owned and operated by the Bolivar Peninsula Special Utility District. But wastewater goes into underground septic systems, one for each house. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulations require that septic systems for new homes be built on half-acre lots, which deters developers who want to build resort quality neighborhoods.
The new sewer system allows Hayes and other developers to build more modern resort homes in their residential projects and attract new owners to the Bolivar Peninsula, helping the community grow. Hayes is allowing other developments, including Avocet, a master-planned community of 412 home sites seven miles east of the ferry landing, to tie into the sewer system.
The system includes two treatment plants, one with a 20,000-gallon capacity and another with a 50,000-gallon capacity. Only the smaller plant would operate during periods of low flow, Hayes said. “We will collect the effluent in a reservoir and then process it throughout the week,” Hayes said.
Demand for waterfront living has caused development on the Texas coast to explode. In Galveston County, the island has seen the lion’s share of development, but Bolivar is booming with beachfront prices almost half that of Galveston and rental demand exceeding supply.
Crown Team Development's current Projects on the Bolivar Peninsula are: