Downing's Landing to close beginning July 22, 2021
 

Posted on the NH Fish and Game website:

Downing’s Landing to Close July 22 for Continued Improvements
Date: 06/29/2021Author: nhfishandgame

CONTACT:
Garret Graaskamp: (603) 271-1748
Jay Martin: (603) 271-3211
June 29, 2021

Concord, NH – To better serve the residents and visitors of New Hampshire, the Downing’s Landing public boat access facility in Alton, NH, will be closed to all public access starting on Thursday, July 22. During the closure, significant improvements will be made by the Department to the parking lot, shorebank protection, and stormwater management structures. This season’s closure is expected to last until late October and will curtail all access to the lake associated with the facility.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department purchased the former private marina at the southern tip of Alton Bay in November of 2012, creating the first public boat access facility on Lake Winnipesaukee. From July 22, and until further notice, the entire facility will be closed to the public to ensure a safe and effective work site. The ramp will be closed and there will be no opportunity to launch or retrieve motorized boats, sailboats, canoes, kayaks, or other self-propelled watercraft during this time period. The parking area for the ramp will be closed to the public as well, and there will be no fishing from the shore.

Please check project status updates by visiting the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Statewide Public Boat Access Program’s webpage at www.fishnh.com/access/index.html.

NH Fish and Game’s Statewide Public Boat Access Program is funded through boat registration fees, which are combined as match dollars with federal Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funds to facilitate boat access opportunities in the state. Fish and Game’s Facilities Construction and Lands Division acquires land for public water access sites, refurbishes existing sites, and builds new public boat access areas.

Another example of government failure...

How is this failure? I get the timing is horrible, but if they're going to make improvements, there has to be some down time?

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Looks like the project is going to take months if it is ending in late October, so doing it after the 4th they get the big holiday in, if they started in the spring it may not have been done by the 4th.

Actually you would be wrong with that statement. The State has been working to get the site rebuilt, But have run into unexpected problems along the way. We they will be doing is the second planned phase of the project. While it stinks that work is going to take place during the summer, it is likely when all details could be planned out, with all contractors being available to get the work completed.

A failure would have been had the state not taken the chance to acquire the Downing landing property, to start creating more and better state owned public access to the lake.

I guess it all comes down to what you consider a "success" to be. While the state making the investment to add additional public access is a success, the way it was done in the purchase of this property was an epic failure.

It was clear from the start that site needed work.... like ALOT of work. It was also a no brainer that the parking situation is extremely limited and the access point off 11/28A is terrible to say the least. By the time this is all said and done the tax payers are on the hook for a very pricey cost per parking spot. I find it hard to believe that money could have been better used to improve already existing spots, in particular Elacoya where a nice launch and parking lot could have been installed fairly easy.