Community consulted on Koolewong boat ramp upgrade

The first stage oF community consultation on the upgrade of the Koolwong boat ramp and foreshore is under way with concept designs available for public feedback on the Central Coast Council's "Have Your Say" website.

A public meeting was held in May to enable the consultants, Royal Haskoning DHV, and the community to discuss current issues with the ramp and ideas and preferences for an improved facility.

Royal Haskoning then prepared an official "Concept Design Memo" that incorporated a synthesis of community views from the meeting as well as the existing facility layout, constraints of the site, previous studies and coastal and environmental processes.

The consultant also took the 2015 NSW Boat Ramp Facility Guidelines into consideration when developing two possible concept designs for the Koolewong boat ramp and foreshore.

In response to requests from local user groups, a new floating pontoon has been included to allow larger boats and yachts to be able to moor temporarily.

Option A featured a one-way Multi Use Foreshore Facility and Option B was a Hybrid One-Two-way Multi Use Foreshore Facility.

In the first option the car parking near the boat ramp is reconfigured to one way.

All vehicles would enter from the south and depart from the north.

The entry at the southern end has been chosen as local users suggested that trees which run along the road reserve impede driver vision and make exiting from the southern end difficult.

This design includes trailer parking spaces aligned at 45 degrees for easy reverse entry and to optimise available space.

Option A also proposes the slight rotation of the boat ramp towards the east to complement the one way flow of traffic and trailer turning circles.

According to the NSW Guidelines it is preferable to align ramps towards the dominant wave direction to avoid waves pushing boats sideways during launching and retrieval.

At Koolewong, the dominant wave direction is north east as a result of the persistent north easterly breezes during summer months.

The one-way traffic flow required the access way between the 45 degree parking spaces and the derigging bay to be eight metres long.

This meant incorporating a derigging bay into the upgrade of the facility would require 1.5 metres of the existing foreshore revetment to be resumed and regraded for the derigging bay.

A number of car parking spaces would also be incorporated into Option A.

Some would be close to the southern reserve, but most would be near the existing fish cleaning facility and useful for accessing both pontoons.

The advantages of Option A were seen as including: the most effective use of space; reduced congestion through a one way traffic flow structure; easier manoeuvring for vehicles; and improved road safety.

Disadvantages of Option A included: a one way system that was not favoured by all user groups; the need for trailer boat users to exit the facility and re-enter between launching and recovering their vessels; the ramp not being aligned towards the dominant north easterly wave direction; and the risk that at quiet times users may be tempted to disregard the one way traffic flow.

Option B involved the reconfiguration of the car parking area and access ways into a hybrid one-two way system.

The facility south of the existing northern boat ramp would be two-way and only the facility north of the existing boat ramp would be marked as one-way.

This would allow vehicles to enter and depart at the southern end of the site but depart only at the northern end.

This would also allow a portion of trailer boat users the opportunity to launch their vessels and park in the southern trailer parking lots without needing to exit and re-enter the facility.

Once the southern trailer lots were fully utilised, users would need to use the angled trailer parks at the northern end of the facility and exit and re-enter to retrieve their vessels.

The two-way system would benefit the off peak and early arrival users.

During busier periods the northern end of the site would become an overflow facility.

In the second option, the ramp and southern trailer bays would be aligned towards the north east so vehicles could move in both directions.

The ramp would be aligned more towards the dominant north easterly wave direction which avoids vessels being pushed sideways during launching and retrieval.

If a derigging bay was to be incorporated in Option B, 3.5 metres of existing foreshore revetment would need to be resumed and regraded.

North of the proposed boat ramp, the facility remains similar to Option A.

Key advantages of Option B were: no need to exit and re-enter the facility to launch and recover vessels in off peak times; the two way system was generally preferred by local user groups; the primary exit is still northern where vision of north and south bound traffic along Brisbane Water drive is presumed to be better; and the ramp is aligned towards the dominant north-easterly wave direction.

Notable disadvantages included: potentially higher cost; more fill required as part of the ramp construction; and a larger area of the foreshore revetment will need to be resumed for a derigging bay.

This could impact on other facilities that would be provided within the existing budget.

The 90 degree angled boat ramp, parking and the two-way traffic flow could result in more difficult manoeuvring and increased congestion during peak times, compared to Option A.

Once council and stakeholders consider the layout and facilities proposed in Option A and B, a preferred arrangement will be further developed by the consultant.

Both concept designs also include a new dual-lane boat ramp and on-ramp pontoon at the southern end of the reserve.

Concept Design Memo, 9 Jul 2016

James Donald and Richard Mocke, Royal Haskoning Pty Ltd