Lake Fenton public access site closed for reconstruction until July 24

[djkimmel]

According to mlive - http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/05/lake_fentons_boating_access_si.html the Lake Fenton public access site is closed during the week until July 24. It will be open on weekends with very limited parking.

That's the bad news. The good news is they are making the site more environmentally friendly and increasing the number of trailer parking sites. Not positive but I had seen it was 35 trailer parking spots and the MDNR proposed increasing it to 57 trailer parking spots. This will reduce non-trailer spots.

The lake is often very crowded but it really isn't big enough were everyone needs to be able to run all over real fast all the time. It is obviously popular so more public access is a good thing. What do you think?

[dartag]

37 - 57. Spots.  They are supposed to move the ramp on my lake.  The one thing the DNR said was they would not increase the number of spots.   

[djkimmel]

They try to create more spots. They don't always do it. Depends on demand, lake association opposition, lawsuits, all kinds of things. I would imagine they had a public meeting with your lake association - assuming you have one there?

There formulas usually 'allow' for more public access trailer parking spots than many existing public access sites presently have. I spoke my first public meeting ever decades ago regarding the 'new' public access site on Webber Dam Pond. I was terrified. I was young and all the anglers who said they would be there did not show.

I didn't even expect to speak (very shy redhead syndrome) but since none of the other people who told me to be there showed up, I put my name on that little card. I was outnumbered everybody to 1. The MDNR recorded the meeting and played it back for me after the meeting. I couldn't even recognize the squeaky voice as mine!

The MDNR did thank me for showing up and speaking. They were very nice to me. I delayed leaving the meeting place because I was sure the gang of very angry lake dwellers were waiting for me in the parking lot! They had never had a public access site and some of them were very, very mad. I survived and had no slashed tires thank goodness!

I remember the MDNR told the people at that meeting that their formula said the should put in a ramp with something like 96 trailer parking spots!!! But... they were only going to put in 18 or 20. That helped a little. Not much. It made a few of the scarier ones even more scary though!!

Most of the water in Michigan belongs to everyone so I definitely support reasonable public access. I am always willing to compromise too. Even when it doesn't sound like I am. As long as everyone stays civil, listens to everyone else and comes up with some type of compromise the majority can live with, we should be able to get things done in this country.