Hmm, have you actually gone to the ramp on Squam lake? Sure it'd really nice, and yes they have a very nice faciity there, but parking for only a handful of trucks and trailers, once the lot is full the ramp cannot be used. So if you want to use that ramp get in before 7:00 AM during the summer or forget about it. There was plenty of room to allow for more parking but rumor has it (I cannot confirm this to be true but wouldn't surprise me one bit) the Squam Lake Assoc had a big part in making sure there was limited parking after it was clear they had lost the battle to all out block the ramp from being constructed.
End of the day, everything is relative, the biggest challenge to putting in a large lauching facitlity is that it requires a combination of decent shore frontage AND contigious acreage to construct a parking lot. There aren't exactly to many spots left on the lake that provide both those features, price points aside. Even if that all could be secured, as FFL admits and I agree, abutters are NOT going to want to have something like that next door, just look what happened to Ames Farm. Shutting down the pubic boat launching had little to do with zoning and everything to do with the neighbors saying not in my back yard. Let's be honest here, if you're shelling out all that property tax $$ last thing you want to deal with is a launch next door.
I do think that a good launch could be put in at Ellacoya, to do it right the state would need to put in a large breakwater and do some dredging. While I understand the idea of both may get DES a little excited, in the interest of public access this would be one case where I think it could be done in a responsible manner and should be at least considered. Heck look at all the money wasted studing crap nobody cares about spending some money to consider the impact of doing something like I suggested would be at least spent looking at something useful.
|