Go Back   Winnipesaukee Forum > Winnipesaukee Forums > General Discussion
Home Forums Gallery Webcams Blogs YouTube Channel Classifieds Calendar Register FAQDonate Members List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-03-2021, 10:40 AM   #1
Mink Islander
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 753
Thanks: 59
Thanked 271 Times in 129 Posts
Default Reworking of the docks/parking area at Shep Brown’s

Anyone attend the Select Board meeting on 6/21 when this was discussed?

My quick observations:

1) spending $520,000 (nearly 1/3 of the total cost) to add permanent bathroom facilities seems excessive. The portalets that have been in use for years meet the need and for a lot less money. That’s mostly a parking area, not a destination….

2). adding medians alongside Lovejoy Sands Rd at the parking area? Looks like that reduces at least 3 parking spaces just for aesthetics…. In total, these plans look like they reduce total available parking by 5 or 6 spaces.

3). Love the idea of extending the right-side dock out deeper and creating a section reserved for loading/offloading.

4). Moving the left-side dock further left to make passage between the two dock better is a great idea.

5). The fundamental issue is and will remain the lack of parking during the summer, so anything that reduces parking spaces is counter-productive. Wonder what it would cost or is even practical to consider widening Lovejoy Sands road with upgraded drainage so that parking would be possible on at least one side of the road. I’d spend $500,000 there long before adding a bathroom building.

Just my 2cents.
Attached Images
 
Mink Islander is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2021, 11:47 AM   #2
4 for Boating
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 210
Thanks: 1
Thanked 37 Times in 25 Posts
Default Spot on

I also find myself questioning spending half a million dollars on public bathrooms. Wonder who is driving that aspect of the project? For those that are customers of the marina - do they not have restrooms? Else as you say, this location is not a destination. $.5 Million for 3 to 4 months of use????? The lot is empty in the winter.

Side Question - do the much larger public docks (and smaller launch) in Meredith have town restrooms? If not, is there some sort of other alternative that is open to the public?

You are spot on with the issue with this site - parking > it seems like in the summer every spot is taken with very little room for any day-use people dropping boats and needing a space. Use the .5 million to buy/find some adjacent land if available to address that aspect, along with the dock improvements as "inside the U" right now is difficult to fully utilize given the tight quarters.

Just another 2 cents...
4 for Boating is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2021, 12:05 PM   #3
MAXUM
Senior Member
 
MAXUM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Kuna ID
Posts: 2,755
Thanks: 246
Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts
Default

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.
MAXUM is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:10 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.

This page was generated in 0.19217 seconds