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Better linkage between the Cap Sante Boat Haven and downtown businesses has been an ongoing topic for port commissioner candidates during the election forums. Here's an idea from Roger Born, who's been giving it a lot of thought.

Connect Cap Sante Boat Haven to Downtown
During recent candidates forums most candidates saw connecting the Cap Sante Boat Haven to downtown Anacortes desirable, even necessary to improve income for small businesses on Commercial Avenue. In addition to boats with permanent slips there are 10,000 to 12,000 boats that seek temporary moorage each season.

Each boat has two to six passengers and they have dollars to spend. Dinner out, visit art galleries, or spend the night in an interesting hotel rather than one more night on the boat. Needed is incentive to move in the right direction. Taking a gravel path through a parking lot to the Archway to downtown is not much incentive especially since the only thing of interest in the first few blocks is a marine supply store. A more interesting route is required.

Here is a possibility. From the Cap Sante Boat Haven Esplanade have our visitors cross over to R Avenue and walk toward the Preston Boat Museum—a tourist attraction itself. Next to it is the Anacortes Depot, another attraction. Two blocks up Seventh Street is the heart of downtown. With little of interest on Seventh Street, it becomes a long two blocks. How about shortening the walk by making Seventh Street more interesting? A sculpture garden perhaps?

Routing visitors up Seventh Street will put them on Commercial right where they want to be, where the restaurants, art galleries, pubs, and antique shops are. There is also a hotel, jewelry store, and a post office. As time goes on it will become even more important to have a draw like a sculpture garden to keep boating visitors making the walk downtown.

To recommend this route some work will be required at road crossing onto R Avenue from the Cap Sante Boat Haven Esplanade; road pits covered, railroad tracks covered, and additional sidewalk section. Signage pointing the way to downtown, with pedestrian warning signs and pedestrian road crossing marking will be needed as well. Make it obvious and safe to cross here.

The walk to the Preston Boat Museum and Anacortes Depot is interesting and safe. The trees along Seventh Street are lovely and should not be disturbed, but are not enough to provide the necessary interest. During Art Walk nights the Depot always seemed a long way off Commercial to me. Another form of art, sculpture art along the route would make Seventh Street the shortest two blocks of the art walk as well as the walk from the marina.

The city has placed sculptures at various locations around Anacortes. These two blocks would become a delight for visitors and residents alike if turned into a sculpture garden! Not only would the walk seem short, it would be interesting. It would be a subject of conversation during dinner. Something to tell those left home who then would want to make the trip as well. It might even encourage those catching the ferry to other islands to stop and have a look (and eat, and stroll, and buy). They won’t have to go all the way to Roche Harbor to find beautiful sculpture.

As with any change there are serious issues. One potential problem is loss of on-street parking. If adding sculptures reduces parking, residents and businesses would be upset. They now rely on the existing parking. The Eagles Hall is a beautiful building on the route, but parking would be an issue here as well. Other issues are likely; issues only learned when the possibility of a sculpture garden is taken seriously.

To start, only one side of Seventh Street need be used. Sculptures could be mounted on islands street-ward of the sidewalk. It would test the concept and maintain the maximum amount of parking. It may never get any larger than this, but still provide the necessary interest to draw visitors. It is essential to focus more Anacortes visitors toward our downtown. This is but one idea to do that.

As a candidate for Port Commissioner I would like to see downtown and Cap Santa Boat Haven connected. However, Seventh Street is outside the port’s area of responsibility. It will take the Planning Commission, City Council, and Chamber of Commerce, with the port’s participation, to make this happen. Without businesses and individual citizen's active interest it will not happen either. If the sculpture garden sounds like a good idea let it be known!
— Roger Born