Martels ramp is closed

[JohnNH]

As I previously posted re; the closing of the ramp at Sarges would cause additional problems on Winnisquam, we are now faced with a single site at Shalimar that has high fee's, terrible launch facility and NO parking.

We all need to contact the City of Laconia ( what are they thinking city management team ) as well as all state department heads and get this problem fixed immediately.

For your reading convenience, I have attached the text from the Laconia Daily Sun that highlights the issues that have led up to the closing of Martels.

John/NH
Martel's owner closing boat ramp
LACONIA — A $25 parking ticket has cost fisherman and boaters the last boat
launch on Lake Winnisquam open to the general public. "It's closed," said
Ralph Langevin, owner of Martel's Sport Shop on Winnisquam Ave. yesterday.
"When the last boat comes out tonight, a chain's going up. It's closed."
Following hard on the heels of the closure of the ramp at the former Sarge's
Country Store at Mosquito Bridge, Langevin's decision will add to the
pressure for public access to Lake Winnisquam, which has revived interest in
building a boat launch at Ahern State Park.
When a police officer yesterday ticketed a pickup with a trailer, it was the
last straw for Langevin, who has been handling a growing number of boats in
cramped quarters since the closure of the ramp at Sarge's in June. He said
that despite only one weekend of decent weather, the number of boats using
the ramp on Saturday and Sunday more than doubled to over 100 and weekday
traffic has risen significantly. He said those paying the $10 to use his
ramp are evenly divided between anglers and boaters.
Pointing to the truck parked on verge on the south side of Winnisquam Avenue
behind Fred Fuller Oil Co., he said "they've been parking there for 50
years. The ticket is for parking on the sidewalk, but there isn't any
sidewalk. It's not posted." Fuming, Langevin said that when he sought an
explanation from the police, he was told "to ask the Department of Public
Works if you can park there. What's that about?"
Langevin's frustrations began on the last weekend in June, shortly after
Sarge's ramp closed, when a horde of anglers and boaters flocked to his
ramp, touching off a Chinese fire drill, though he used more vivid, less
polite imagery. Describing a melee of vehicles and boats that led to
shouting matches, he began to question then whether providing access was
worth the trouble.
"As soon as I learned Sarge's was closing I warned everybody this was going
to happen," Langevin said. "I didn't want to piss off my neighbors. I told
everybody if we work together, we can get through this." Instead, he said
that after using the ramp "without ever paying a dime," state and local
agencies have done nothing to ease the situation while the police, by
issuing the ticket, simply aggravated it. "All they had to do was come in
and say 'Ralph, you can't let your customers park there,'" Langevin said.
"How hard is that?"
Stressing that Laconia "is a resort community," Langevin said that city
government, especially the police, should be welcoming visitors and
encouraging business during the summer season. "All this traffic is helping
everybody in Laconia," he said.
"The ramp is a courtesy thing for sportsmen, not a money maker," Langevin
said. He said that the ramp required extra staff and insurance. Moreover, he
rents parking space from Fred Fuller Oil Co. and Werner Precision Machine on
weekends, when the traffic in line for the ramp reduces his over-the-counter
trade. "It's not worth it and I don't need it," he said.
In June, the Public Water Access Advisory Board (PWAAB), created to expand
public access to New Hampshire waters, revived a proposal to build a boat
ramp at Ahern State Park, which was shelved in 2002 when the City Council
expressed unanimous opposition to the plan. Likewise, the Ahern State Park
Advisory Committee (ASPAC) agreed that access at the park should be confined
to "cartops" — rowboats, canoes and kayaks.
As an alternative, City Councilor Fred Toll (Ward 3), who chairs the ASPAC,
has suggested a four-acre parcel at the foot of Water Street, directly
across the Winnipesaukee River from Martel's Sport Shop, which houses the
sewage pumping station and the offices of the Winnipesaukee River Basin
Project. The PWAAB, along with the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department and
the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, are in the process
of reviewing the sites in preparation for the meeting of the PWAAB in
September.
The prospect of a public boat launch right across the river merely fuels
Langevin's ire. "Try to tell somebody how to get to Water Street for I-93,"
he laughed, adding that "if they can't handle the traffic tie-ups and
parking problems here, what makes them think they can handle them there? And
why should I be a convenience to the state and the city when in a year or
two they want to stick it to me?" he asked.
Meanwhile, Langevin insisted he would have no second thoughts. "I'm probably
the most stubborn, hard-headed, dumb frog you've ever met in your life," he
declared. "I won't reopen it."