Facing a shortage of boat ramps, Bradenton and Manatee team up on a Riverwalk solution
Faced with increasing demand for boat ramps, local leaders are reviving a proposal that could produce another one in a prime location along the Manatee River.
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown have discussed the idea of building a boat ramp along the Riverwalk behind Manatee Memorial Hospital. They said they’re interested in looking into the possibility, which would help address the county’s shortage of boat ramps.
The availability of Manatee’s boat ramps has been a focal point in recent months, with leaders saying that nine boat ramps in the county for a growing population fall short of what’s needed.
“Launch lanes and parking spaces go hand in hand and we’ve tried to find a balance where we can. A county of 411,000 people should be double what you see here, easy,” Charlie Hunsicker, the county’s director of Parks and Natural Resources, said during a May 4 public meeting with elected officials.
Building a boat ramp near the 400 block of Riverside Drive East could help solve the problem. The Manatee Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to have county staff begin researching the possibility and applying for permits.
The part of the Manatee River leaders are eyeing has been declared a “dead bottom,” which means that seagrass cannot grow in that area. With that designation, Van Ostenbridge and Brown said it might make sense to bring in fill material to build a boat ramp.
“That’s great news and a great idea,” County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said.
Van Ostenbridge suggested that the fill could come from other areas of the county such as Wares Creek or Port Manatee, areas that already need to be dredged for maintenance or expansion. A similar proposal had been pitched years ago, but it never graduated from an idea.
“Years ago, the county brought it up, but I don’t know what happened to it. At the end of our Riverwalk, from there over to Caddy’s, it was suggested to maybe one day become a boat launch, so they’re researching it to see it,” Brown explained to the Bradenton City Council at a public meeting on Wednesday.
Not every Bradenton councilman is on board. Councilman Bill Sanders said he’s against building a boat ramp in that part of town, pointing out that it’s an area the city has spent years trying to develop into a walkable park.
“That’s already right in the middle of our project. It would not enhance it, it would make it terrible,” Sanders said. “It’s a countywide issue, but to put that in the middle of our walkable Riverwalk, I can’t believe we’d even consider it.”
The traffic, congestion and large vehicles that come with a boat ramp could clash with the city’s vision for that area, Councilman Patrick Roff added.
“I think sticking trucks and trailers in our thriving downtown area is counterproductive to everything we’re trying to accomplish,” Roff said. “We’re trying to create a thriving downtown. They’re trying to solve a boat problem. We have conflicting interests.”
Brown and Councilwoman Jayne Kocher urged officials to keep an open mind. The proposal is still in the early stages and nothing has been officially designed or recommended. It’s also unclear whether county staff will suggest moving forward with the plan.
“Not everybody can afford to have a dock in their backyard. Nobody is going to want to have those trailers parked down there, but there’s a way to look at those options and see if it can be done and done well,” Kocher said.
The county owns and maintains boat ramps providing a total of 16 launch lanes and 253 marked trailer spaces. Other plans are also in the works to build another boat ramp in Cortez as part of the upcoming Peninsula Bay development.
County officials have also considered asking the state to approve a boat ramp near the entrance to the Sunshine Skyway fishing pier on the Manatee County side of the bridge.
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 3:43 PM.
