The clerk’s office of an important city in Alaska has certified a petition that would restrict cruise ships and passengers, if enough signatures are collected.
Juneau, Alaska is trying again to limit cruise ship traffic, and a new ballot petition has been certified. Supporters of the plan want to put stricter rules in place and now need to collect 2,720 signatures by May 19 to get the issue on the October ballot.
This isn’t the first time Juneau has looked at limiting cruise ships. In the past, the city has discussed and made some changes to handle the increasing number of cruise passengers as Alaska has grown in popularity just about every year.
However, with over 1.6 million cruise passengers visiting in both 2023 and 2024, concerns about overcrowding and other impacts have grown.
The new proposal includes:
- A daily limit of five cruise ships.
- A yearly limit of 1.5 million cruise visitors.
- Daily visitor limits of 16,000 on most days and 12,000 on Saturdays.
- A shorter cruise season, from May to September (currently April to October).
City officials approved the petition despite opposition from Allen Marine Tours, who argued the plan was poorly written.
An attorney from the tour company said the plan was “wholly inadequate in attempting to address the complexity of limiting, permitting, and penalizing cruise ship visitation.”
This push to limit cruise ships happens as Juneau residents are also considering other ballot measures about property taxes, sales taxes on food and utilities, and voting rules.
Getting almost 3,000 signatures by mid-May is no small feat, especially considering Juneau’s population is just over 30,000.
This petition might be a long shot, but it definitely shows that a decent amount of Juneau residents are not happy with the current situation with cruise traffic, even as a considerable number of businesses rely on it to survive. We’ll be monitoring this situation closely.
