A Juneau task force wants congestion data to support limiting cruise calls

Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force agreed Aug. 20 to recommend a downtown congestion study, one purpose of which is documenting congestion "to support a fact-based case for any proposed ordinance limiting cruise ship port calls."

The scope is preliminary: standardized measures of congestion by type, magnitude, location and time, with duration and recurrence still to be worked out. The task force wants the work done with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, and recommends re-engaging the department on data collection specifically.

The same data would set a baseline for evaluating infrastructure, including the Seawalk and the Huna Totem Dock. The task force separately recommends recognizing the dock as a significant catalyst for addressing vehicular and pedestrian congestion. The other listed uses are long-term tourism planning, community and industry scheduling, and public information.

The broader draft package includes restructuring the roundabout outside the Red Dog Saloon, stanchions and crosswalk improvements, better traffic signage, continued Seawalk development, continued support for the Tourism Best Management Practices program, crossing guards at five downtown crosswalks, and holding off on a downtown circulator.

Mayor Beth Weldon created the 10-member task force in November, directing it to address crowding downtown and in Auke Bay and to develop a 10-year tourism direction. The Assembly has already adopted objectives from the 2019 task force, including limiting cruise ships to five a day downtown and completing the Seawalk.

Juneau handled roughly 1.7 million cruise passengers in 2025. The industry accounted for $375 million in direct spending and 3,850 jobs, by the city's 2023 count.

An ordinance introduced July 27 would cap ships over 950 passengers at five a day borough-wide, codifying a limit already set by a 2023 agreement with the cruise lines. Assembly members Woll, Hughes-Skandijs and Kelly sponsored it.

At a comprehensive plan listening session, Barb Mecum said the city "needs to manage those numbers and enforce those numbers."

Nine task force members and two city staff attended the Aug. 20 meeting. No one from the public spoke. A second public testimony meeting is set for Oct. 15.