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Editor: 

The Albany City Council at its general meeting Monday night appointed councilmember Alan Maris to serve on a community advisory committee that would look into building a terminal on the border of Albany and Berkeley, near Golden Gate Fields. 

Recommending ferry service were speakers from both Berkeley and Albany. 

They included Linda Perry of the Berkeley Ferry Commission and Jerri Holan of Friends of the Albany Ferry. 

They said that it could eliminate almost a lane of commuter traffic from the Bay Bridge. Staffers from the SF Bay Area Water Transit Authority, a new, regional government agency, said that the ferries could operate during an emergency, when BART or the bridges might be closed. 

Proponents said they would want the ferries running during weekends, for recreation. 

But ferry service would need a subsidy. The SF to Vallejo service is subsidized--fares account for 70% of expenses. Finding ferry parking might be a problem. Pollution might be a problem, but new technologies, such as bio-diesel, could be pollution-free. 

At the meeting there was talk of extending ferry service to the airport. 

Martin Ilian 

Albany