By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
BEESLEYS POINT – The boat ramp on Harbor Road will not be accessible until the end of June at the earliest.
Plans call for work on the ramp, and to dredge out around it. One boater, who declined to be identified, complained to the Sentinel that the work comes just as people are ready to head out onto the bay.
The work has been discussed at several Township Committee meetings this year. According to township engineer Paul Dietrich, the boat ramp will be mostly inaccessible this spring anyway, while a large-scale project kicks off for the Harbor Beach area.
That county-funded project aims to make the area a gateway to Cape May County, with improvements to the gravel parking area, new lighting and benches and other improvements. That work is already under way, with most of it expected to be completed by mid-June.
At a recent Township Committee meeting, Dietrich said some additional items at the site will be completed by the fall, what Dietrich described as less “mission critical” elements.
While the county plans to put more than $1 million in improvements at the site, the boat ramp has seen more discussion from the public. Earlier this month, resident Sean Whelan sought an update after Township Committee approved a resolution appointing Water’s Edge Environmental LLC as an environmental consultant for the boat ramp replacement. Concerns have been expressed about the condition of the boat ramp for years. Earlier this year, Township Clerk Barbara Young sought guidance on how to handle seasonal permits for the use of the boat ramp. Pre-season rates are usually $50 for residents, $100 for non-residents, increasing to $75 for residents and $150 for non-residents starting June 1.
But the boat ramp will not be open for at least part of the season. Committee members discussed several options, including pro-rating the cost or doing without an ramp attendant.
“Of course we’re going to have an attendant because you need a traffic cop. Those people will kill each other if somebody’s not out there,” Committeeman Ed Barr said. The attendant helps keep order and helps people park on crowded summer weekends.
When someone asks for a boat ramp permit, suggested Committeeman John Coggins, “just let them know what the story is.
“We’ve got two other boat ramps that are going to be open, but this Beesleys Point boat ramp is going to be closed until some point in July,” he said.
Since that meeting, Young posted a letter to the township website stating that the township is not currently issuing boat ramp permits for 2021. There are also boat ramps at the Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area, at Corson’s Inlet State Park and on Bayview Avenue in Strathmere.
There will not be parking available at the Harbor Road lot until the county project ends in late June.
According to township officials, the Harbor Avenue area sees a large number of beach visitors in addition to those using the boat ramp, while the pedestrian and bike lane over the Great Egg Harbor Bay along the Garden State Parkway has become a major attraction.