Juneau committee hears presentation and public testimony on Auk Landing dock proposed by Hoonah Totem

Juneau’s Assembly Land, Housing and Economic Development Committee received a presentation and took public testimony Feb. 24 on Auk Landing, a proposed Hoonah Totem cruise-ship dock and mixed-use development at the Whittier and Egan intersection in downtown Juneau.

The presentation reviewed a navigability study from the Marine Exchange of Alaska and a traffic study produced over roughly 18 months; the public record and a city survey were also summarized. Committee discussion moved to the Committee of the Whole for questions and further review.

The project team, represented at the dais by Susan Bell of Hoonah Totem, told the committee the development has been shaped by multiple rounds of public input and by recommendations from the Visitor Industry Task Force and the planning commission. Bell said the presentation on Feb. 24 would emphasize new materials, including a navigability study and a traffic analysis.

Ed Page of the Marine Exchange reviewed the navigability work, which used automatic identification system (AIS) data to replay vessel transits and test proposed dock alignments. Page said the study examined several placement angles and concluded the proposed alignment “does not really interfere with the maneuver in those vessels” shown in the dataset and that, based on the simulated scenarios, “it won't be [a] significant impact on their routes and transits.” The study noted, however, that not all craft…