Port Jeff ferry at sunset ahead of an outdoor movie...

Port Jeff ferry at sunset ahead of an outdoor movie event. Credit: News 12 Long Island

The Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry recently changed its policy about where riders park their bicycles aboard its vessels. For years, I locked my bike with its attached luggage bag to a post on the car deck and proceeded upstairs to enjoy the sail with everyone else.

This summer, I was advised that I would have to lug the fully loaded bike up the stairs and stay with it the entire trip. When I asked why, the dock agent simply replied, “Security.”

Why are my bicycle and I security threats, while hundreds of vehicles pour onto the ferry every day without anyone checking their trunks or cargo areas? And how does schlepping the bike upstairs makes me any less of a risk?

I enjoy riding the ferry out of Port Jeff, but the new policy might be misguided.

Tom Montalbano

Syosset

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