Shady Side boat ramp adds to public water access
BOATS, From page 1 ate development of parks. We are all for water access but that has to be balanced against the impact on the community. That continues to be forgotten,” said Jim Lyons of Neighbors of the Mayo Peninsula.
County spokesman Owen McEvoy said Schuh has “continually demonstrated a commitment to listening to the community.
That is why we scaled the park plan down as well as investing dollars to improve Route 214 and opening an emergency response station — all this year (in reaction to traffic and public safety concerns).”
Mike Lofton, who for years led the effort to raise awareness about the lack of access for car top put-ins and general public water access is now chair of the Schuh-appointed Anne Arundel Public Water Access Commission.
He sees progress in the past four years and is looking for ways to keep it up. A consultant report issued last year looked at several sites and ranked them by feasibility.
One thing the commission has recommended in response to public comment is seeking county partnerships with existing marinas to increase access at a lower cost.
“We asked the county to have their consultant look at commercial and community marinas for the potential for some sort of partnership rather than building ramps from scratch,” Lofton said.
County officials say they are doing so.
“Once we posted results of our boat ramp study 80 percent of the comments suggested we were overlooking the opportunity (to partner with) marinas,” Anthony said.
“We gave that direction to BayLand Consultants to look at marinas that might not be doing so well or might want to sell to the county. We needed to do a deeper dive on any opportunity.”
He expects a preliminary report by the end of the year.
In the meantime the commission is holding off on recommending the next ramp project until the report is released.
“We are taking a pause to see if there is an easier way to go. If that does not happen, we will go back to the list,” Lofton said. pfurgurson@capgaznews.com
County spokesman Owen McEvoy said Schuh has “continually demonstrated a commitment to listening to the community.
That is why we scaled the park plan down as well as investing dollars to improve Route 214 and opening an emergency response station — all this year (in reaction to traffic and public safety concerns).”
Mike Lofton, who for years led the effort to raise awareness about the lack of access for car top put-ins and general public water access is now chair of the Schuh-appointed Anne Arundel Public Water Access Commission.
He sees progress in the past four years and is looking for ways to keep it up. A consultant report issued last year looked at several sites and ranked them by feasibility.
One thing the commission has recommended in response to public comment is seeking county partnerships with existing marinas to increase access at a lower cost.
“We asked the county to have their consultant look at commercial and community marinas for the potential for some sort of partnership rather than building ramps from scratch,” Lofton said.
County officials say they are doing so.
“Once we posted results of our boat ramp study 80 percent of the comments suggested we were overlooking the opportunity (to partner with) marinas,” Anthony said.
“We gave that direction to BayLand Consultants to look at marinas that might not be doing so well or might want to sell to the county. We needed to do a deeper dive on any opportunity.”
He expects a preliminary report by the end of the year.
In the meantime the commission is holding off on recommending the next ramp project until the report is released.
“We are taking a pause to see if there is an easier way to go. If that does not happen, we will go back to the list,” Lofton said. pfurgurson@capgaznews.com
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