A plan to open a ferry between Rising Sun, Ind., and Belleview, Ky., is drawing opposition from local residents who fear traffic generated by the operation would tax rural roads in western Boone County. . .
"There are a number of concerns, including the traffic the project is going to bring to the area," said Patrick Lense, a Petersburg, Ky., resident who opposes the project. "The main problem is simply that the ferry would only benefit Rising Sun and Indiana's riverboat casinos. There would be virtually no benefits for Boone County."
Jim Carmichael, a real estate agent with First Commercial Realty in Florence, is helping to broker the deal. He stressed that the ferry is being proposed to help people in Rising Sun commute to Boone County, not to improve access to Grand Victoria Casino & Resort, located one mile away from where the ferry would dock in Indiana.
"The gambling boats have absolutely nothing to do with this," Carmichael said. "We could care less about the gambling boats."
But many Boone County residents are dubious about that assertion because of the involvement in the process of the Rising Sun Regional Foundation, which is funded in part by the Grand Victoria Casino.
"We know that casino money is tied to the project," said Pat Raferty, of Burlington, Ky. "The project is very close to a residential area, and it is going to be cutting into a high bank in the Ohio River. It's just not a very well thought-out project."
Also troubling to residents is the ferry's potential for spurring growth.
As residential development has exploded in Boone County over the past few years, county planners and elected officials have tried to keep it contained to the eastern portion of the county, allowing much of western Boone County to retain its rural character.
Carmichael contends that the ferry would not bring a significant amount of traffic to western Boone County. He said a traffic study will be presented at a hearing Wednesday that he believes should put some of those fears to rest.
"We're talking about a maximum of eight cars every 30 minutes," Carmichael said. "The impact is going to be minimal, but we understand that for some people, minimal is just too much. We're trying to satisfy the people who are opposed to this as best as we can."
Wayne Fairchild, who lives in McVille near the proposed ferry landing, said while he has some concerns about the ferry bringing drunk drivers from the gambling boats, he thinks the project could be a benefit for the community.
The ferry would have really been beneficial 10 years ago before the Grand Victoria casino opened because many people commuted from Rising Sun to jobs at the East Bend power plant on Ky. 338 in Boone County, Fairchild said.
He believes, though, that the number of workers coming from Rising Sun has dwindled over the years.
"I'm a member of a farming club in Indiana, so I would probably use the ferry a couple of times a year," Fairchild said. "I'm not a fan of gambling, but a lot of people need to get across the river and it takes a while to go up to Interstate 275, so I think it could be beneficial."
By Luke E. Saladin
Cincinnati Post staff reporter
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