Proposed 200 foot carry at Beverly Triton Beach Park - Hot Deadline Thursday May 2019

[Lisa]

Hot Public Comment Deadline: Thursday May 2 2019

The April 18 2019 public meeting about Beverly Triton Beach Park was bad.

We have been waiting for decades for a public access improvements at Beverly Triton Beach Park. On April 18 2019 the county drastically cut back the improvement in the February 2019 "final plan" for Beverly Triton Beach Park. The main blow for kayak anglers is the increase in carry distance to the water. Right now it's about a 75 foot carry. The "new plan" increases the carry to 200 or 225 feet. One of the Mayo obstructionists was dreadfully rude. She sneered "oh, they can put their kayaks on carts, they're supposed to be getting exercise anyway" and then laughed. The bathrooms are also moved 400 feet from the water, making it an 800 feet walk to use a toilet, and the outdoor rinse off showers are eliminated.

There is a two week comment period. Tell the county you need a short carry to the water and more parking at Beverly Triton Beach Park! Suggested comment points below.

Comments are due THIS Thursday May 2 2019. Submit comments here on the Public Comment Form link: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...rks/index.html

The Mayo obstructionists put their new talking points online. They're now going after the measly 96 parking spots and trying to get them cut back to a couple of dozen spots - for a 345 acre park.

Suggested comment points for PRO public access, please tell your own story as well:

*96 parking spots are way too few for a 345 acre park. Increase the number of parking spaces.
*Keep the cartop drop off loading and unloading zone where it is at 75 feet from the water. Increasing the distance from 75 feet to 200 to 225 feet makes it very hard to carry up to 150 pounds (or more!) of gear to the water.
*Keep the ADA loading and loading zone where it is now at 75 feet from the water. Making people who use walkers, wheelchairs or who have arthritis in their knees and hips walk an extra 200 feet to the water is wrong.
*Keep the bathroom at the waterfront location in the February 2019 plan. Making people with little children leave the beach and walk 800 feet to and from the bathroom is wrong, making people who use wheel chairs and walkers and have bad knees walk 800 feet to and from the bathroom is cruel.
*Put the rinse off showers back in the plan so people can rinse off their kids and themselves before driving home

Again, comments are due THIS Thursday May 2 2019. https://www.aacounty.org/departments...rks/index.html

For what it's worth, here are the "disimprovements" in the the April 18 2019 "new plan" :
*takes away the outdoor showers so you can't rinse off yourself and your children and grandchildren before you go home
*moves the drop off for cartop boats and ADA parking from 75 feet to the water to 200 or 225 feet to the water
*moves the restrooms back from the waterfront 400 feet so everyone will have to walk 800 feet round trip to use the bathroom
*moves the ADA parking spots 200+ feet further from the shore

Again, comments due THIS Thursday May 2 2019. Again, submit comments here on the Public Comment Form link: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...rks/index.html

Thank you,

Lisa

[Lisa]

Hey, anyone here but us crickets?

The deadline for online comments for Beverly Triton Beach Park is tomorrow / Thursday, May 2 2019.

Look for the Public Comment Form Link here: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...rks/index.html

The Mayo obstructionists already got the county to move the loading zone back from the current 75 feet to the water to 200 to 250 feet from the water. That's a looooong extra way to move a yak and gear to AND from the water. Now they're trying to get the parking cut back from 96 spots to two dozen spots.

The Mayo obstructionists even put their talking points on line. "Unfortunately, the size of the 96-car paved parking lot has not been reduced . . .It is important to make your comments or suggestions on these new design concepts for the Beverly Triton Nature Park known. Especially, remember to comment on the size and number of parking spaces in the proposed paved parking lot."

PLEASE comment on the changes in the Beverly Triton "final plan" and include 1) keep the loading zone at the existing 75 feet from the water and 2) we need at *least* 96 parking spots. Please tell the county in your own words how and why you enjoy Beverly Triton and that improvements should make it easier not harder to use the park.

It's now or never, folks. Please take a minute, click on that link and oppose "improvements" that make Beverly Triton Beach Park harder to use.

Thanks

Lisa

[nhunter344]

Comments submitted.

[DonV]

Comments submitted but this sure is all very disheartening. From what I have been seeing the writing is on the wall. Thsi is going to happen and much worse will be coming down the pike. The rich and powerful are back in control with the recent changes in government and even though we are now official sanctuary county I think there will be no sanctuary for county residents the like to kayak and enjoy the county waterfront unless you happen to own a multi millions dollar home on the waterfront and hobnob with the county power brokers.

[rkramer26]

Comments made. Tks Lisa for posting this call to action. A friend of mine who works for AA parks and rec told me in no uncertain term Mayo residents want this park to be only for those who live in Mayo; ridiculous but true.

[nhunter344]

A friend of mine who works for AA parks and rec told me in no uncertain term Mayo residents want this park to be only for those who live in Mayo; ridiculous but true.

If that's the way they want it to be, then send them the bill to recoup the cost of the initial property purchase as well as the upkeep going forward. If they want it to be for themselves, the rest of AA county taxpayers don't need to foot the bill for it.

[mjkeith13]

Comments submitted. First time I've ever pulled the disabled vet/WW card. Plus I live in AA county.

[Lisa]

Thank you to all who submitted comments.

I have good news. Rec & Parks extended the comment deadline to Thursday May 9 2019.

Again, look for the Public Comment Form Link here: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...rks/index.html

Please submit your comments if you have not. Please, as you are out and about on the water and with your friends and family this weekend, ask them to submit comments by this Thursday 4/9/19.

Two other "disimprovements" that are in the altered plan 1) the county moved the bathrooms back from the waterfront to 400+ feet from the waterfront. That means everyone has to go on a 800+ round trip hike to the bathroom. It's just mean. Families with little kids, people with bad knees, people who use wheelchairs - the only purpose of the move is to make it harder to enjoy the park for everyone and make it impossible for people who aren't fully physically able. 2) the county took the outdoor rinse off showers out of the plan. People can't rinse their kids, grandkids and themselves off before going home. Also mean. This is more that a "kayaker issue". It's a everyone who paid for this park should get to enjoy this park is safety and comfort issue.

Stepping off the soapbox, I am going to the council budget meeting now.

Lisa

[Cowpokey]

Make sure you ask them where the money went that was supposed to pay for any and all improvements, that have now been reversed. That money has been stolen from us.


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[Lisa]

Spriggs may be in trouble too.

In the meantime, *please* submit your comments on Beverly Triton, emphasizing that 96 parking spots are very few for a 345 acre park and cannot be cut further (the original design had 167 parking spots and the Mayo obstructionists got it cut back to 96) and that moving the loading zone from 75 feet to 200 to 250 feet would make it very hard to use the park.

Please spread the word to your family and friends and ask them to comment also by Thursday May 9 2019. Look for the Public Comment Form link here: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...rks/index.html

If you live in Anne Arundel County, you can double down by looking up your county council member and sending your comments to them too. 6 of the 7 council members are new and most of them haven't dug in yet. Here's how to look up your council member and get contact info: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...cil/index.html

Thanks, and get out on the water this weekend!

Lisa

[Yakmac]

Can non-county residents submit comments?

[Lisa]

Can non-county residents submit comments?

Yes, absolutely.

Everyone in the state and everyone in the country paid for this park. The county bought Beverly Triton Beach Park with Maryland state Program Open Space (POS) money and federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) money. Program Open Space gets its funds from a percentage of state real estate transfer fees, LWCF from federal fees from offshore oil and gas drilling.

Both programs mandate use of the money for *public* outdoor recreation and *public* outdoor space, not publicly funded de facto private parks for the benefit of adjacent property owners.

If the neighbors wanted it for themselves, they should have bought it for themselves.

Lisa

[Yak67]

Comments Submitted Lisa, thanks for your tireless efforts in this endeavor. Thanks Keith for asking that question, I think many of us thought it was an A.A. County issue we could not comment on. But they are using All of OUR money, so we should speak up.

Yak-67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

[Mark]

Lisa,

Thank you. I submitted comments this morning.

Indeed the argument is more than water access for kayakers. It's an economic argument -- one of long-term waste of a valuable asset owned by the public in total. Those who live nearby the property are not the only ones with a voice in the matter.

Please speak up.

[Lisa]

Everyone can comment. I ask Anne Arundel County residents to also send their comments to county council members because otherwise the council members will probably not see the comments. Also, council members do not get a lot of individual email from constituents. Form letters, yes, petitions, yes, but an individual email from a constituent gets read. Here's the county council website again so you can find your council member's email: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...cil/index.html

Also, one more thing. The $1 a year lease mentioned in the 1998 Baltimore Sun article? It's still in effect. Beverly Beach Community Association leases one third of the beach at Beverly Triton Beach Park for its exclusive use as a community swimming beach. The county health department tests the water quality for them.


https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-07-11-1998192071-story.html


This would not disappoint me nearly as much if they weren't trying to block the rest of us from using the other two-thirds of the beach.

Lisa