BOATERS: Launching about to get tough

Launching your boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene is about to get really tough. City Councilman Mike Kennedy recently announced that the city had come to a compromise with regard to the proposed changes to McEuen Park. Apparently the city has hit a snag concerning the replacement of the Third Street boat launch. As you may know, the city has promised to replace the boat launch and baseball fields with facilities of equal or greater value.

That promise has apparently gone out the window, because what Kennedy didn’t disclose, was that the boat trailer parking for the Third Street launch is going to be moved all the way across the new park, to a lot next to City Hall. That’s 5 blocks, or as Kennedy recently pointed out to me, only 1,300 feet. Well Mike, 1,300 feet is nearly a QUARTER MILE! Essentially they want to leave the launch, but take away the parking.

Let me put this in perspective for you. After you navigate downtown traffic with your boat to reach the launch, wait for a slot to open up, unload your family and back your boat into the lake, you will have to:

Drive back out to Front Street (1 block). Navigate your truck and trailer back out into traffic while dodging pedestrians. Drive up to Eighth Street (5 blocks). Take a right at a questionable corner. Drive two more blocks to the new boat trailer parking lot on the south side of City Hall and park your rig. That is about 8 blocks of driving.

Then walk a quarter of a mile through the park along a new trail to your boat (which your family has been diligently holding onto for about 10 to 15 minutes now). When you get back your wife asks, “Where’s my jacket? I told you to grab it. Oops!

At dusk you decide you have had enough sun and fun so you pull into the marina. Unfortunately, everyone else had enough at the same time, so it’s a 10-minute wait to find a spot on the dock.

You find a slot on the dock and leave your family holding the boat as you start the hike for your truck and trailer. In the meantime, the guy that pulled up behind you on the dock was a faster walker, so he is already backing his trailer in when you finally finished your 1/4-mile hike and 8-block drive back to the launch 10 to 15 minutes later. So you have to move your boat — it’s only fair.

You finally pull your boat out, tie it down and head for home.

COME ON! This is not compromise — its stupidity! I am for the park. I am for moving the launch. I am for more parking downtown (although I question putting it underground on Front Street). I am OK with moving the ball fields. I am against getting in a big hurry. Let’s slow down and do it right. Rome wasn’t built in a day…

DAVE PULIS

Coeur d’Alene