What's your opinion concerning concrete lane dividers on boat ramps?

Some IDIOT or IDIOTS from the City of Lubbock have installed cement slabs between each of the boat ramp lanes about 1.5 to 2.0 feet wide running a long stretch from the water on up the public boat ramp a good ways on Lake Alan Henry.

Now, all that has done is make the lanes NARROWER, and greatly increases the chances someone will scuff the whitewalls on their trailer tires. I rarely noticed a problem previously with people backing down the lanes. Repeatedly last year, all 5 lanes were in use at the same time. Every now and them, 4 vehicles were using the 5 lanes, but that did not happen very often. Those concrete slabs really narrow the lanes, and it does increase the difficulty of backing the trailer down the lanes.

I bet there will be quite a few people get out of vehicles this year who will proceed to trip over the concrete slabs and injure themselves. Or when backing away from the side of their boat, they'll forget about the dividers, trip, fall, and injure themselves.

I talked to one other boater who said the concrete slabs weren't there last weekend. That boater said he knew of one other lake that had them, and he didn't like the concrete slabs being at Lake Alan Henry or the other lake he went to.

What's your opinion on having concrete lane dividers, rather than just marking the lanes with a yellow stripe, for instance?

[This message has been edited by Steven (edited 03-02-2003).]

Steven -
It does seem like a waste of good money/time to do something like that when most people will just say heck with it and roll up on top of it with one wheel and not try to hit the lane.

A nice cheap "anti-trip/anti-scuff" yellow or red painted stripe would have served the same purpose.

You have to understand that many times decisions such as this are made by politicians who haven't the foggiest idea what a boat is...or one who needs a list of "accraplishments" to beef up his re-election campaign.


[This message has been edited by redfin (edited 03-02-2003).]

A better spend of the money it took to pour concrete would have been to stock it with more bass. The older I get, the more I hate politicians, and actually, the more I think about going into politics. One of us has got to stand up and say "ENOUGH!!!"
O.K., I'll go outside now and breath.

------------------
JC

I fished the Mel Phillips tourney at Alan Henry yesterday and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the concrete dividers. I went fishing last weekend also and they weren't there. My partner and I think that was the stupidest thing we had ever seen. People that are not experts at backing a boat to start with are gonna be in lots of trouble. I guess this is the beginning of the "improvements" that are gonna be made with the increased fees the Lubbock city council said are gonna take place. Oh well, we have nice lane dividers on the ramp but we still have to put up with the porta potty they have in the parking lot....

just my 2 cents.....

I hate to correct you, joemac121, but I think I saw TWO potties. One on the south side of the parking area, and one on the north side of the parking area. I guess another "improvement" was taking out most of the potties that were there last year!

I used the potty on the south side of the parking area. I was afraid I would get a ticket for using it, since there was a handicapped sign on the front door and I didn't have a handicapped license plate. But after exiting, my sense of smell was temporarily gone, so I considered myself handicapped.

Depending on what the dividers look like, if they have vertical sides (i.e. curbs) that are high enough to divert a trailer with a boat on it, then I think you run the risk of damaging the trailer.

What I would prefer are lines showing the lanes that extend off the ramp on to the flat ground ahead of the ramp to allow for proper alignment before the trailer goes over the crest and you lose site of the tires for a brief period. Many of the ramps that I use require you to come into the top of the ramp at somewhat of an angle and the lines extending into the flat area would give you a target before you go on to the slope of the ramp. The longer the rig, the more the angle.

The Tower Bay ramp at Lewisville is a comfortable four lanes wide, normally used (read blocked) by three, sometimes two people launching\retrieving boats, sometimes because you can not see the lanes early enough, sometime because they simply do not have a clue.

I couldn't care less what the City of Lubbock does at Allen Henry..........Well, until they lower their fees, hows that?

Nope Lubbock I'm not spending one cent on anything Lubbock owns, until the rates come back to reasonable rates.

I was at Amistad again this weekend and enjoyed two days of fishing and the facilities (real restrooms) there including that slippery ramp for $8.00. Thats two of us and a boat, plus two days of fishing....lets see at Allen Henry thats $48 for two days....NOPE, I've taken Lubbock off my frickn map!

Gotta kinda agree with mmurphf, pooh on Lubbock and Alan Henry. I had to learn to launch and retrieve a boat on that ramp. I can not believe that with that LONG ramp there are not going to be some SERIOUS problems. Seen it SIX wide and without mishap, the lanes are a joke!

------------------
Thanks and Gig'em, Mark Fairchild

Don't know why they would install these things. Haven't seen you in a while Steven.

I'll see what I can find out and who pushed for these lane dividers. You guys are right...most politicians don't have a clue.

Steven, you know my feelings on AH and I don't want to get into another long dissertation here like our last exchange. But I figure it could be due to the last few times I was there, folks seemed to back down at random and in some cases took up more room than what they needed. Now, I will say that I don't recall many if any of the bass fishermen causing any problems unless they were left in the situation where it was the only choice they had. The bulk were the crowd that waits until they get to the lake to find out the motor won't run or the battery is dead or the ones that try and unload the back of the station wagon into the boat along with the whole family once they get backed down.

Best I remember the ramp would probably facilitate 5 or 6 lanes and I've seen the whole ramp taken up with 3 or 4 boats and PWC trailers.

But in response to your question, Ivie has raised dividers on the ramps at Concho and Kennedy and doesn't seem to pose any problems to the fishermen there. And with the low level, you have to back a long way down the ramp. Just have to be quick with corrections and don't over correct.

Sounds like the city fathers are trying to make good on the use of the new fees. Hate to see that they pulled the porta potties though. Maybe they're fixin to build a nice big potty facility with flushing toilets and all

------------------

Found out today it was an idea by the LPD and Garza Co. Constable's office to put the concrete dividers in.

"The ramps were installed in order to reduce the confusion/delays on the ramp by funneling trailers into one lane only. It was decided upon to try for a season." I can foresee them removing the lanes.

Now all the confusion will be why it is taking so long for everyone to load/unload their boat.

Steve..

i can see how it would seem that they thought it would be faster, but i got to tell you i am nervous about the little 8 inch curb at bridgeport by the 380 bridge where i launched....me backing my boat no big deal, and that goes for a few other guys too, but somebody who is not too good at it or i have to back up and basically put the boat in the water and they have to jsut go back a few feet and drive out,,,no way!

BUT AS IT SAYS ABOVE...SOMEBODY THOUGHT IT WOULD WORK AND PROBABLY WILL FIND OUT IT DOES NOT......KINDA LIKE COCA COLA CHANGING THE FORMULA TO NEW COKE IF YOU ASK ME....

Hmmmmm .... Steve Bradbury, I wonder if that same logic might apply to their use fees in a while?

------------------

Tom Martin, formerly employed by the Lubbock Police Department, and who is now on the Lubbock City Council, seems to be doing his best to get the Lubbock Police Department involved in the policing of Lake Alan Henry. So your mentioning this as a recommendation of the LPD probably goes DIRECTLY back to Tom Martin. I wonder if Tom even owns a boat?

LL, I don't post on LubbockOnline any more, but instead post like crazy on the TalkAmarillo website. I am so loved there.

I don't know if Tom does or not. I DO know that the city council hadn't even been to Alan Henry until Boren got on the council. He organized a trip out there, and the council was amazed how nice it was!! I was shocked...they built it, passed all this legislation and very few, if any of the council members had ever even been out there!!! Simply amazing.

I'm sure they love you up there in Amarillo Steven. But the water is nice and calm at LOL again.

It has been one week and there are already people talking about the lanes...
http://www.texasfishingforum.com/.ubb/Forum2/HTML/003337.html

I want everyone to know that three ADDITIONAL potties were sitting beside the handicapped marked potty on the south side of the parking area when I was there on Friday, March 7, 2003.

Today, I talked to three more fisherman at the Lake Alan Henry public boat ramp, and none of the three liked the concrete lane dividers. I suggested that the three come to this site and post their opinion. Whether they will or not, I don't know.

I do know that NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON I have talked to likes the concrete lane dividers. I simply ask the people what they think of the concrete lane dividers, and after they tell me what they think, I chime in with my negative opinion. So I am not leading the person to make negative comments by making my position known first.

A co-worker of mine told me a local radio station owner was discussing the concrete lane dividers Monday on his radio station, and the radio station owner plans to go to Lake Alan Henry on a busy day to broadcast the responses of people having to deal with the concrete lane divider distraction. That ought to be funny as hell!

Lubbock City Councilman Tom Martin was on a local radio show this morning, and to sum up his response to the concrete lane dividers at Lake Alan Henry, here's a brief recap:

1.) Learn how to back a trailer if you want to use the ramp.

2.) Get over it.

3.) Any other questions on another subject?

I don't mind dividers in ramp areas, I just wish the designers didn't use a hatchback and a jet ski trailer to plot em out. I know the loop at Johns Creek on Cooper can get you if your not paying attention and Grand Bayou in LA is completely messed up. Theres no way anything other than a duck boat can make that loop...

For those of you who use the public boat ramp at Lake Alan Henry, here are two Lubbock City Councilmen involved with Lake Alan Henry. Feel free to tell them how you really feel about the concrete lane dividers:

Gary Boren: gboren@mail.ci.lubbock.tx.us

Tom Martin: tmartin@mail.ci.lubbock.tx.us

I personally love the new deviders. They are big and bulky and have those neat sharp edges. Now instead of waiting on the wife to get the trailer, I get to park the boat walk up and get it myself. Then I have to back it down, go around to my boat and load. Looks like they knew what they were doing to me. This neat little added attraction should make the wait to load 3 hrs. instead of 1.5 hrs. I think now that they have made this drastic improvement of the ramp, they will need to add a metal detector at the gate. With all the added wait time and with all the people who haven't bothered to learn any manners at a ramp, there will be some shootings if guns are allowed to slip in.

Um, rod, I have already been through that one with the City of Lubbock last year. Contrary to what the signs at Lake Alan Henry say, and contrary to what the brochures say, concealed gun permit holders are allowed to carry legal weapons in their vehicles, for instance, at the public boat ramp.

Plus, I have discussed the matter personally with someone who enforces the law at the lake, and was told there was no legal prohibition for concealed gun permit holders carrying weapons in their vehicles at the public boat ramp.

Sooooooooooooooo, no one better cut in front of me.

My experience in life seems to be that there is always someone smarter who knows better for me. Those lane dividers are no exception. The issue is CONTROL. Who has it, and who doesn't. Perhaps one should point out the issue of liability ( those in CONTROL hate LIABILITY.) IN the manual for control freaks, special emphasis is placed on proper posture and compliance. Check out the dirty looks you get in a parking lot when you park with a trailer across the lines. Most fishermen I know are not real big on becoming silent clones of the system. The State Of Texas has proposed putting cameras on traffic lights in order to ticket red light runners 24 hour a day. Public safety you know. If we could just control your thoughts...What ever you do, don't color outside the lines.

I received a reply on 03-16-2003 from Lubbock City Councilman Gary Boren stating that he is attempting to get the city to ". . . change the barriers to something along the line of 'speed bumps' . . . to mark the lanes."

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

That would be a very nice improvement. Thank goodness Gary is concerned enough to make some changes. Wish the rest of the council was too.