- Target:
- City Of Cumming Georgia Administration (Mayor H. Ford Gravitt and City Manager, Gerald Blackburn)
- Region:
- United States of America
Many citizens acrross Forsyth County and specifically Cumming have enjoyed access to Mary Alice Park Boat Ramp for many years. It is a heavily used ramp almost year around with over 500 annual pass users and thousands of day use patrons each year and has been one of the best boat ramps on the lake. The onsite management is excellent and the boat ramp parking lot is large and easily navigated.
There are some issues with the access to the ramps that are cause for concern relative to safety and risk of damage to watercraft at the ramp.
The water levels on Lake Lanier have been anything but consistent over the years and the reasons for this are arguable. That topic is not the purpose of this petition because the city nor its citizens have the resources or access to impact such a political quagmire as the lake level issue. The purpose of this petition is to increase safety and the quality of use issue for the boat ramp at Mary Alice Park.
Almost every year at some point in the season the access docks are rendered useless due to low lake levels during droughts or broken out- flow meters on the Buford Dam gates! When lake levels drop as again it has this year, it forces boaters to drop their boats in the lake and attempt to beach their watercraft just east of the ramp to pick up passengers.
This is a small area with a lot of watercraft congestion and poses safety risks on busy days due to numerous boats, wave runners, as well as kids in the water near the ramp. It also results in damage to watercraft that are forced to beach or that get too close to shore depending on the size of the watercraft. We are fortunate in that the length of the ramps at M.A.P. are long enough to use even when the lake level has dropped over 13 feet!!!
With this in mind, this petition identifies a solution that will dramatically improve the safety of the boat ramp and the quality of use. In addition, this petition proposes a solution to the issue and a way to fund it.
The relative cost is nominal for this proposal and would very easy to complete in short order and will pay for itself.
The solution this petition is recommending is as follows:
1. Extend the 2 existing boat docks via adjustable cable winches and added catwalk sections.
a. In low water conditions, this would dramatically improve ramp accessibility, reduce congestion in the beaching area adjacent to the ramp, and greatly improve safety by allowing for the docks to be let out according to lake level.
i. It would also be agreeable to fix the docks at the maximum extension into the lake vs. adjustable cables is that is preferable to the City.
b. In higher pool conditions, this would increase boat throughput at the ramp allowing smaller craft to use the sides of the docks in addition to the front of the docks as well.
2. The cost for materials and labor to do this project I would estimate to be $10,000 or less.
a. To fund this project the City could raise the Annual Pass fee to $50.00 for boat ramp users and increase the daily ramp fee accordingly to offset the cost of the project.
b. I and most boaters I know would gladly pay double for the annual pass to achieve increased safety, better dock access, and mitigate the risk of watercraft damage!
Cost Analysis:
Traffic Assumptions:
- Total Annual Passes 500 ;
$25 Upcharge for enhanced dock equipment = $12,500 added revenue
April – September Weekend Day Passes (48 days @ 40 per day) ; $3.00 day-pass upcharge = $ 5,760 added revenue
April – September Weekday Passes (132 days @ 15 per day) ; $3.00 day-pass upcharge = $ 5,940 added revenue
$24,200 Total Increased Revenue.
The citizen supporters of this petition hope you will earnestly this proposal and if there is anything we as citizens can do to assist with researching the project or doing any of the legwork, we are willing and happy to offer our assistance in any way with this project. We know the C.O.E. can be difficult to deal with on lake issues, but this proposal has no downside and only offers improvement to all parties involved. We strongly believe the answer is not to close the ramp due to docks being out of the water. This view is shortsighted and serves no one. This park and ramp is used heavily and would be used even more with higher quality access and would create even more revenue for the city!!
Please give serious consideration to this proposal, and again if we can offset time or resource concerns on your part…..please allow us to assist with some of the legwork.
We look forward to your response to this request.
Petition Initiator - Jeff Bowling jeff.bowling@kellogg.com
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Mary Alice Park Boat Ramp Access Improvement petition to City Of Cumming Georgia Administration (Mayor H. Ford Gravitt and City Manager, Gerald Blackburn) was written by Jeff Bowling and is in the category City & Town Planning at GoPetition.