Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - Reworking of the docks/parking area at Shep Brown’s

MAXUM · 07-03-2021, 12:05 PM

This plan has some good ideas, but definitely could think of some alternatives.

First moving the north dock out a little to make more room between the two fingers is great however in doing so the far side will be much closer to Island Svcs Co's dock and it is really shallow in there, almost not usable when the water level is down. I would think it'd be tight getting in there except with a very small shallow drafting boat. Extending the southern dock and having a drop off\pick up area I think is great. Um need to make sure the dock posts are high enough so we don't have anyone tempting to run a sea plane business off the docks there.

Having a permanent bathroom isn't a bad idea those porta potties can be pretty gross in the summer time, but the expense seems a bit much and there is the ongoing cost of maintenance to consider. It seems that is the bulk of the cost. While the trees, grassy area and picnic tables near the docks is nice, this is not exactly a picnic area destination more or less a area where people transit so putting in a covered waiting area. That may be a permitting problem I realize being close to the water but I think that would be far more useful to those that frequent the area (if possible of course).

The parking lot of course is the biggest challenge and frankly the bottom end of LJS road is a disaster on a busy day with private boat launches\recoveries along with the fork lifts running back and forth. I'd almost like to see a complete change in the traffic pattern so that road was split with a one out for public traffic and one lane dedicated for the forklift. The added 7 spots on the other side of LJS road are nice but add to the mess down there, it would almost be better make them head to head at an angle to the NW against the last row of spots and expand the road to the south where the proposed new spots are located. In fact it may provide for even more spaces. If that were done combined with a single one way lane it would that make for better traffic flow? With a dedicated lane for the forklift safer as well? This would of course mean that Goodhue would have to allow for this to happen as it would encroach onto their property. Frankly I think this is the biggest challenge and concern.

I doubt the road can be expanded in width due to the wetlands on either side however creating a pull off well above the Goodhue storage barns for those recovering boats to park and tidy up before hitting the road would be a nice added feature that may be possible, thus allowing those recovering boats to immediately clear the launch area.

For sure this is far better than the last proposal that was made with the goofy dock and parking lot design. I'm sure that the general public, especially those that use this area a lot can come up with more useful ideas than these "consulting" companies.

Finally why does there need to be 3 handicapped spots? I rarely see more than one or two used at any given time. I think at least one of those should be labeled for dual purpose for temporary unloading with a "10 minute" designation on it unless otherwise occupied by a handicapped vehicle. In fact I think an additional spot could be squeezed in there instead of a grassy area.

Few tweaks here and there and it could be a solid improvement over what is there now.

07-03-2021, 12:05 PM	#3
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	This plan has some good ideas, but definitely could think of some alternatives. First moving the north dock out a little to make more room between the two fingers is great however in doing so the far side will be much closer to Island Svcs Co's dock and it is really shallow in there, almost not usable when the water level is down. I would think it'd be tight getting in there except with a very small shallow drafting boat. Extending the southern dock and having a drop off\pick up area I think is great. Um need to make sure the dock posts are high enough so we don't have anyone tempting to run a sea plane business off the docks there. Having a permanent bathroom isn't a bad idea those porta potties can be pretty gross in the summer time, but the expense seems a bit much and there is the ongoing cost of maintenance to consider. It seems that is the bulk of the cost. While the trees, grassy area and picnic tables near the docks is nice, this is not exactly a picnic area destination more or less a area where people transit so putting in a covered waiting area. That may be a permitting problem I realize being close to the water but I think that would be far more useful to those that frequent the area (if possible of course). The parking lot of course is the biggest challenge and frankly the bottom end of LJS road is a disaster on a busy day with private boat launches\recoveries along with the fork lifts running back and forth. I'd almost like to see a complete change in the traffic pattern so that road was split with a one out for public traffic and one lane dedicated for the forklift. The added 7 spots on the other side of LJS road are nice but add to the mess down there, it would almost be better make them head to head at an angle to the NW against the last row of spots and expand the road to the south where the proposed new spots are located. In fact it may provide for even more spaces. If that were done combined with a single one way lane it would that make for better traffic flow? With a dedicated lane for the forklift safer as well? This would of course mean that Goodhue would have to allow for this to happen as it would encroach onto their property. Frankly I think this is the biggest challenge and concern. I doubt the road can be expanded in width due to the wetlands on either side however creating a pull off well above the Goodhue storage barns for those recovering boats to park and tidy up before hitting the road would be a nice added feature that may be possible, thus allowing those recovering boats to immediately clear the launch area. For sure this is far better than the last proposal that was made with the goofy dock and parking lot design. I'm sure that the general public, especially those that use this area a lot can come up with more useful ideas than these "consulting" companies. Finally why does there need to be 3 handicapped spots? I rarely see more than one or two used at any given time. I think at least one of those should be labeled for dual purpose for temporary unloading with a "10 minute" designation on it unless otherwise occupied by a handicapped vehicle. In fact I think an additional spot could be squeezed in there instead of a grassy area. Few tweaks here and there and it could be a solid improvement over what is there now.