PORT CANAVERAL — A site in Jetty Park is the top choice among recreational boaters for new boat ramps to replace ones at Freddie Patrick Park that could be displaced by a proposed cruise terminal in the port’s Cove district.
Wherever Port Canaveral’s new boat ramps end up, though, they will be free to use, port officials said.
A survey of more than 250 people who attended two workshops last week on the issue showed that the largest number of them favored the Jetty Park site, which is closest to the ocean of the six options presented. Many of the people at the meeting were recreational fishermen and other boaters.
But their views were diverse, and port commissioners agreed Wednesday to keep the top three options in the running for further study.
In order, the top three choices at the workshops were Jetty Park (36 percent); the existing boat ramps at Freddie Patrick Park (24 percent); and a site in the Avocet Lagoon area, east of the Canaveral Locks, on the west end of the port (18 percent).
David Perley, director of port construction and infrastructure, said port staff will study potential costs of building boat ramps at each of the three sites and how long it would take to build the ramp complexes. He plans to bring the issue back to port commissioners, either in September or November, for a final decision.
Port Chief Executive Officer John Walsh said port officials have decided against instituting a fee for boaters using the new boat ramps, opting instead to keep it free.
Port commissioners in November also will be asked to green-light a proposed $75 million cruise terminal and parking garage complex just east of the Cove’s restaurants. The new terminal would be able to handle the largest cruise ships of the future.
If port commissioners choose the Jetty Park site for the recreational boat ramps, Walsh said, it would have to be designed with future cruise expansion in mind. Port Canaveral’s next new cruise terminal, after the proposed Cove site, likely will be just west of Jetty Park, at the site of the port’s current smaller Cruise Terminals 3 and 4, which would be torn down.
If commissioners pick the Cove area for the boat ramps, the new 158,000-square-foot cruise terminal and the boat ramps would have to be designed so they can coexist there.
Port officials also are studying the feedback they received from boaters about potential amenities at the new boat ramps, such as restrooms, pavilions, boat-washing areas and fish-cleaning stations.
Port commissioners said they were pleased that port management gave boaters the opportunity to weigh in on the boat ramp locations, although Port Authority Chairman Tom Weinberg noted that “it’s not going to be easy” to please everyone.
