Minutes Present: Gosford City Council, RHDHV & Public Stakeholders. Apologies: From: Karen O'Mara & James Donald Date: Wednesday, 11 May 2016 Location: Gosford Sailing Club Copy: Our reference: M&APA1337M002F01 Classification: Open Enclosures: Haskoning Australia PTY Ltd. Maritime & Aviation Subject: Koolewong Boat Ramp Upgrade - Initial Stakeholder Consultation Number Details Action 1. Pontoon or Jetty Items 1.1 Pontoon/Jetty need a minimum depth at end of wharf (at least 2.2m at low tide to facilitate yacht access) on a 0.6 tide. 1.2 Yachts can t get in at low tide to existing jetties. At high tide jetty is under water and feet get wet. 1.3 Yacht owners in favour of a floating pontoon similar to Gosford. Needs to go out at least another 3 metres. T wharf works well. Rubber bumpers needed. 1.4 If the T wharf was extended, the existing moorings would be too close and cause crowding. Is there opportunity to move some moorings? 1.5 2.2m depth required at a 0.2 tide. Compromise on depth if needed. 1.6 Perhaps a pontoon in an F shape like a harbour? 1.7 If a T wharf was installed and pushed out as far as possible a buffer could be created on the inside with plenty of opportunities for tying up both sides. 1.8 Handrails on the pontoon to assist people getting off their boats this was not received very well. 1.9 Plenty of cleats on the pontoon. 1.10 Solar panel lighting on wharf to extend usage after daylight hours. 1.11 Piles need to be inside the wharf like Woy Woy not Couche park. 1.12 Floating pontoon is preferred over a fixed jetty. 1.13 90% of yachts moored at Koolewong would have a draft of 1.4m or less. 2 Boat ramp / Trailer Boat Facility Items 2.1 Motor boat owners weed is an issue - can t reverse trailer. 2.2 North east winds blows in the weed. 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 1/10
Number Details Action Can t tie boat up on your own by yourself. 2.3 Weed is a maintenance issue. 2.4 Twin ramp (like Deerubbun) works well with ramp in middle & a pontoon on both sides. 2.5 Examples of facilities that work well: - Apple Tree Bay boat ramp - Ku-ring-gai - 5 Dock Bay boat ramp - Drummoyne 2.6 In prevailing winds you need the opportunity to choose which side to use. 2.7 Existing gradient of ramp very steep. Guidelines state between 1:7 and 1:9. 2.8 A suspended boat ramp wouldn t work. Difficult for trailer boat fisherman to use - not level with sides. A pontoon would assist with this. 2.9 Issue to launch at Gosford as a single handed fisherman issue with the railing to get boat from ramp to pontoon. Be mindful of what is between the ramp and pontoon. Obstructions and age of users needs to be considered. Woy Woy boat ramp is a better example of this. 2.10 Kick ramp out at 30 degrees face NW instead of NE. Shelter of the pontoon could protect from the wind when launching - this could reduce weed. Use slope of ramp to get depth needed. 2.11 Running out of ramp length at Koolewong is an issue with long trailer - pull out distance is not long enough. Backing in is ok. Angled ramp would give you more distance. 2.12 If the ramp is angled, will there be less of a fall. 2.13 Northern ramp - rock at end, steepness and shortness means trailer has to go off the end of the ramp. 2.14 A dual ramp for both and pontoon in the middle if funds permitted. 2.15 Preference was to leave one as is, if one is upgraded. It should be noted that this would take up parking spaces. 2.16 Northern ramp is preferred because it drops into deeper water. 2.17 De-rigging area is required and a waiting zone (like Woy Woy). 2.18 On ramp pontoon would be preferred on the side of the prevailing winds. 3 Dingy Storage / Launching Facility Items 3.1 Dinghy storage need extra due to mooring numbers. Poles - good. Racks - boats are more sturdily stored. Dinghy launching needs addressing ramp or sliding poles. 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 2/10
Number Details Action 3.2 Dinghy slides - one in good condition and one is rotting away and are very slippery. Women not looked after. Need to stand on slide itself to use. 3.3 Dinghy access does not need to be considered as they use the area where the dinghy s are stored. Improved access to water would be helpful. 4 Car Parking Facilities 4.1 Plenty of parking needed - trailers currently edging out onto cycle track. 4.2 There are guidelines that indicate how many parking spaces are required according to levels of use. Is angled parking an option? 4.3 Would a one way system mean that parking had to be angled? Would a 45 degree angle give a longer width however this would mean less spaces as the spaces have to be made wider. 4.4 Cycling is an issue in front of the ramp. 4.5 Have numbers been estimated on potential increase use of ramp? Only available usage data is the SMEC report. 4.6 Guidelines recommend 20m in front of ramp for manoeuvrability. Currently there is only 15-16m. 4.7 Line marking, kerb, gutter currently generally in bad condition. 4.8 Current lack of disabled parking spaces. 4.9 Traffic flow one way facility may be required due to limitation of available area. Access to ramp from the road is an issue (entering & exiting). Visibility is poor. Access off the road - damages cars due to large dip (scouring). The area is also used by heavy trucks for the commercial wharf. Trailers when turning out drag hot mix off the carpark. 4.10 Option of an overflow facility in peak times for parking if one way traffic flow system. Possibility of waiting zones. Section of land north of the reserve is underutilised, could be used for more parking area. Trees could be removed if necessary. Current issue of the longer trailers that can t park are parking parallel to edge of carpark which reduces manoeuvrability. 4.11 Going with a one way traffic flow means that you have to have to drive back out on the road and back in again. This would be an issue with a 70km speed and blind corner and for those that had light boards on their trailers. They then have to put this back on to go on the road to meet legal requirements. 4.12 More lighting in carpark. 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 3/10
Number Details Action 4.13 Signage for electricity lines required. 4.14 The majority of parks need to be lengthened 4.15 Current pavement conditions in disrepair. 5 General Facilities 5.1 Fish cleaning table issue with current design. Current location is an obstruction due to turning space. Telegraph pole on edge of car park also creates an obstruction. 5.2 Constraints discussed cycle path, sewer, overhead electricity lines, off shore constraints like seagrasses etc. 5.3 Question raised if surveys been done on the depths, and where the deeper parts are. A new survey needs to be undertaken. 5.4 3 user groups need to be considered yachts, motor boats and smaller recreational craft (kayaks etc). Ski boats need to be fully submerged, has this been considered? There seemed to be a general consensus that kayakers already seem to be well catered for at a site to the north of Koolewong. 5.5 Wind data shows dominant winds are from the south east and north west. However due to land topography north east winds are the problem particularly afternoons in summer. 5.6 Wave action bad in a north easterly and a south easterly wind. 5.7 Issue with oysters on rocks. 5.8 Sedimentation not a problem at this location. 5.9 Currents No issue at this location. 5.10 This ramp has a different type of usage to other ramps. Fixing up the ramp will bring more numbers. There is opportunity to separate the yachting use (pontoon etc.) from the trailer boat usage. 5.11 Steve from RMS suggested that we concentrate on revamping the southern ramp to 2 lanes and consider a 30 degree angle for longer length and more protection. Leave the northern ramp as is but put a decent size pontoon for the yacht access and boats that want to come in. Lesser impact with trailer issue near cycleway etc, Southern ramp is more protected from north easterly. 5.12 The Royal Haskoning contract is for concept design of improved boating and car parking facilities. However the RMS/Council funding allocated is for construction of the boat ramp and pontoon facilities only. 7 Information Presented 7.1 Sketch of stakeholder preferred pontoon layout submitted 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 4/10
Number Details Action (Attachment A). 7.2 Richard presented a review of the existing facilities and potential improvements (Attachment B). 7.3 There were stakeholder concerns regarding the measured wind data at Gosford being used to inform facility design at Koolewong. The general consensus amongst stakeholders was that summer north easterly winds are a limiting condition. Local wind data collected at the site would help identify local wind condition in regard to local topography. 6 Wider Community Issues 6.1 Waters at commercial wharf are a lot calmer - is it an option to put a double ramp down here? 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 5/10
Appendix A 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 6/10
Appendix B 5/17/2016 M&APA1337M002F01 7/10
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