<\/a>About 40 people are present for a meeting about the impact of tourism. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t
The mood lightened somewhat after Janes and Day said they want to work with residents to make the industry easier to live with.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
But there were plenty of pointed criticisms of the crowds that cruise ships bring to the community —1.3<\/a> million are expected this <\/a>year<\/a>, according to Cruise Line Industry Association-Alaska.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t [More tourists are coming<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t These included the traffic created by crowds that make portions of the Thane and Basin Road neighborhoods difficult for vehicles to navigate, the environmental impact of cruise ships and whale watching vessels, the potential of tourists bringing diseases to the community, the use of taxpayer dollars for projects that benefit tourists and the behavior of visitors.<\/p>\n Visitors from the Norwegian Bliss walk along Thane Road to downtown on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t “We’ve gotten to the point where tourists are so overwhelming, people will not look at me and will push me into the street,” said resident Steve Krall. “Living on Basin Road, I sometimes have a nice garden, and people think they have the right to go and touch my plants because they want to take a picture of themselves holding the flower that they like. It’s just unpleasant. This can’t go on.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Assembly member Carole Triem, who was one of several elected officials in attendance said some equity between the pros and cons of tourism seemed to be missing in the conversation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t However, the concern was dismissed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t It was also suggested by one attendee that perhaps the reality of living in Juneau means has changed and some degree of tourism impact is part of living in the city.<\/p>\n<\/a>