Juneau residents say they want to see the city’s tourism task force address issues like helicopter noise, downtown bus traffic and whale watching congestion.
Those were just a few of the topics mentioned during more than an hour of public testimony last week at a Visitor Industry Task Force meeting.
Nathan Stewart lives in the Fritz Cove area and testified at the meeting. He asked the task force to recommend changes that would reduce noise pollution from helicopter tours near his neighborhood.
“It’s important to recognize this is not an annoyance — it’s a chronic stressor with real impacts. The noise cannot be avoided by those of us who live in the flight path,” he said. “Tourism is important to Juneau’s economy, but it has to be balanced with livability.”
The task force has been meeting since late last year and is charged with tackling big-picture tourism topics and recommending potential changes to the Juneau Assembly. Last week was Juneau residents’ first chance to testify in front of the members to share their ideas and concerns. A previous iteration of the task force in 2020 recommended changes, including Juneau’s now adopted five-ship limit.
Mary Marks lives in the Mendenhall Valley and is a shareholder of Goldbelt Incorporated, which is proposing to build a $500 million cruise ship port on the backside of Douglas Island. Marks says she supports the developments but wants the task force to ensure guardrails are in place.
“Tourism places demand on our community,” she said. “Too little of the resulting wealth appears to be reinvested directly into improving the lives of local residents. If tourism continues to grow, I would like to see meaningful investments that strengthen our community and create visible benefits for future generations.”
Kimberly Metcalfe, an outspoken critic of tourism, asked for more drastic changes.
“In your recommendations to the Assembly, please ask them to seriously consider suing the industry to severely limit the number of ships and passengers that are able to land in our borough boundaries,” she said. “We owe nothing to this industry — they pay next to nothing to us. Why are we allowing them to destroy our quality of life?”
The task force is slated to dive into long-term planning and draft policy recommendations for the city later this summer and fall. The task force is expected to finalize its recommendations on Oct. 22. Residents will have another chance to testify before then on Oct. 15.
