This is the text of my report on the second meeting of the Blueways Commitee. Jayb has it posted on Paddle Fishing.com
Wednesday night was the second public meeting of the Tampa-Hillsborough Blueways Planning Committee.
This time the participants know each other. Many have spent hour’s together, paddling and exploring waters, gathering information for the program. There was no uneasy silence this time. Folks are mingling and talking about their trips. You could see the new friendships growing.
Ken Kramer once again called the meeting to order. One of his main points was how overwhelmed he was with the response to the program. The first meeting had about 30 people in attendance. This time we have well over 40. Mary Helen Duke welcomed the new members and spoke about an article run on the front page of the Tampa Tribune regarding the Tampa-Hillsborough Blueways program. After the article ran, approximately 60 volunteers sign up in one capacity or another. In all, there are around 130 volunteers signed on.
Our first guest was Rebecca McGuire, Project Manager, Planning and Design for the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department. She was discussing the status of the county boat ramp facilities. There were many ramps which the County has finished improving. Tampa Bypass Park was improved and also included ADA access. The Riverview Park ramp was rebuilt and resurfaced. At EG Simmons Park, the ramp was resurfaced, safety improvements were implemented and the County undertook their first dredging project by clearing out the channel to the bay.
This fall, there are many more projects to be undertaken. One of interest to the paddling community is located at Alderman’s Ford Park. The existing canoe launch is slated to be improved. But in my opinion, I think it is one of the nicer launches around.
And of course Cockroach Bay was mentioned. Cockroach, right now is in a “study and design phaseâ€Â
