Port cities around the world are either protesting or refusing cruise ships over the destruction of historic districts.
Venice has banned cruise ships in its city center. Dubrovnik has instituted a limit on how many cruise ships can come to port. Other places, like Barcelona and Charleston continue to fight for basic rights for their residents, like the right to clean air or the right to move through their own city.
The World Monuments Fund has put Charleston on a watch list because the port city risks losing its historic character due to cruise ships and the overtourism it brings.
As we’ve seen in other cities around the world whose residential communities have been damaged as a result of un-checked cruise ship activity, our community stands to become less livable.
We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn from these cities before irreversable damage to our city is done.
Create enforceable policies that:
• Limit the number of cruise ships and cruise ship passengers on an annual basis.
• Mandate vehicular traffic enter and exit Pier 46 to the south to Royal Brougham Way or Edgar Martinez Drive. Only foot traffic should be allowed to use S. Jackson and King Streets so historic Pioneer Square does not become a traffic choking point.
Veteran journalist and publisher David Brewster (Seattle Weekly, Crosscut.com) cautioned Seattle about the dangers of adding a new mega cruise ship terminal in Pioneer Square: “When cities invest in the visitor market (hotels, convention centers, festivals) they are ordinarily playing a final, desperate card in...
Mass tourism is choking Venice. Watch the CNN video on the effects of overtourism on the historic port city. Venice has recently banned cruise ships in its historic city center, and is considering a tourist tax to offset the many problems the residents face. Some...