Beachwood Park Wed 2/1/23 new public boat ramp comments HOT DEADLINE

[Lisa]

Hello all,

There's a hot Wednesday 2/1/23 deadline for comments on the proposed public boat ramp at Beachwood Park. PLEASE EMAIL ASAP.

Email Rec & Parks drp_capital-projects@aacounty.org and tell them YOU want a new public boat ramp at Beachwood Park on the Magothy River! Rec & Parks set a skimpy public comment period so email by Wednesday 2/1/23 if possible. Remember to include your first and last names and street address so they know you are a real person.

Beachwood Park presentation and plans: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...beachwood-park

Option A has a boat ramp plus kayak beach (like Solley Cove) with 29 trailered boat parking spots, 25 car parking spots and 2 ADA parking spots. It's elegant. Option B has only a kayak beach with 53 car parking spots plus 2 ADA parking spots. Both options allow paddlers to drive down to the water to unload and load. Please ask for a public RAMP for TRAILERED boats and kayak beach Option A !

The kayak anglers have a lot to gain from this project. Paddlers can drive down to the water to unload and load. There will also be 2 ADA parking spots by the water. The Option A boat ramp / kayak beach model works well at Solley Cove and the 25 car parking spots in Option A are about the same as the existing car parking. Also, if the trailered boat ramp is part of the project the county can use state Waterway Improvement Fund (WIF) money for most of the cost.

Thank you

Lisa

PS Rec & Parks had the online meeting on Wed 1/18/23, set a skimpy 14 day comment deadline of Wed 2/1/23 and then delayed posting the plans and presentation until Monday 1/23/23. Thus cutting the effective comment period down to 9 days! I've asked for a 5 day extension to fix their own mistake and so far they are refusing. Please email ASAP.

[Lisa]

Again, please email drp_capital-projects@aacounty.org by tomorrow / Wednesday 2/1/23. I have since learned that Rec & Parks entire outreach for this project was to send letters to people who live within 300 feet of the park and notify the Magothy River Association (MRA). This tiny Rec & Parks outreach misses 99.9% of trailered boat owners and people who now use the park and sets up the boat ramp to be killed by neighborhood opposition. Ask for Option A, which is a Solley Cove style combo of boat ramp + kayak beach and allows us to drive down to the water and drop off our kayaks.

[dsaavedra]

Just sent an email. Here's what I wrote if anyone wants to use it as a template:

Hello,

I'm writing to you to express my support for Project No. P567500 - improvements to expand water access at Beachwood Park - as described here: https://www.aacounty.org/departments...beachwood-park

I'm an Anne Arundel County resident and an avid kayak fisherman. To date I have never fished in the Magothy River because of poor water access for my fishing kayak. Fishing kayaks are often bulky, heavy, and require wheels to transport. The prospect of wheeling a heavy kayak down the existing wooded path at Beachwood Park has been daunting enough to prevent me from using this site altogether. The other public access site on the Magothy, Spriggs Farm Park, is even worse.

I think installing a boat ramp and a permeable parking area at Beachwood Park is a fantastic idea and will provide some much needed public access to one of our county's most valued rivers.

Thank you for your consideration,