Common Ground Transit Talks
Led by Listening
Island Stewards is guiding this project the way we believe leadership should look: by listening first. Common Ground Transit Talks is where we gather stories, insights, and lived experience to shape how transportation can strengthen island life. It’s not about imposing a plan. It’s about learning together how we move — and who or what we impact when we do.
What the Project Is
This is not a one-size-fits-all system. It’s about shaping transportation that belongs here. Together, we’re asking:
How do islanders really get around today?
Where do we find connection, and where do we feel cut off?
What patterns of movement already serve us, and which ones wear us down?
How can mobility protect what we love — rural character, community resilience, and fragile ecosystems?
How can we support and grow the overburdened systems and organizations already in place, so they thrive alongside new solutions?
Transportation is more than logistics. It is belonging, affordability, and stewardship. It determines who can participate in island life, and it ripples out into housing, jobs, healthcare, tourism, and climate.
Our Approach
The “ground” in Common Ground means two things: the literal ground of our islands — the roads, ferries, trails, and shorelines — and the ground truth of lived experience. This project grows out of conversations, surveys, and stories from every corner of the county.
When people share how they get around — or how they sometimes can’t — they’re helping sketch the outline of an island-shaped system. From those voices, we begin to see where connections can be built, and where pressure can be lifted from people, ferries, and ecosystems.
Where It’s Headed
These talks will shape the first transportation prototypes: small, flexible solutions rooted in island values. That might look like:
EV vans circulating between villages and ferry landings
Volunteer ride networks for elders, youth, and workers
Ferry-to-village loops that reduce car dependence
Seasonal shuttles and bike connections that ease tourism congestion
But nothing is set in stone. The system will grow from what we hear and learn together — and from the collaborations we build. That means weaving in the strengths of programs already here, like Island Rides and the Green Carshare Program, working with our local bike shops, and staying open to every partnership that helps us move toward connection and resilience.
Island Stewards is committed to bringing all voices to the table — especially amplifying those most burdened in our community. Because when we plan from the hardest challenges outward, we don’t just solve for the few — we build systems that make all of us stronger.
Getting an accurate survey of transportation use and needs is also critical. It not only grounds the design in lived experience, but it also helps unlock funding from sources such as the San Juan County Lodging Tax, the National RTAP program, Skagit Transit partnerships, and WSDOT. With strong data and strong community voices, we can move from conversations to action. Survey Links: https://www.islandstewards.org/communications/common-ground-transit-survey-links
Your Part Matters
We can’t map this out without you. Every survey filled out, every petition signed, every story shared adds to a clearer picture of island life. The more perspectives we gather, the stronger the foundation becomes.
Looking at the challenges together is how we’ll find a way forward. And when we do, the impact reaches far beyond transportation. It improves access to jobs, healthcare, and community life. It supports small businesses and farms, lightens the financial burden on households, and reduces the strain on ferries, housing, and infrastructure. It strengthens resilience during outages, and it helps us plan with fairness for both visitors and residents.
Most of all, we owe it to our environment and to one another to come together and make it happen. Because getting around is never just about transportation — it’s about how we care for people, how we keep these islands livable, and how we tread lightly on the land and sea that hold us.
Share and take the surveys: https://www.islandstewards.org/communications/common-ground-transit-survey-links