Launch Gridlock -- Getting Boat On Water Is Increasingly Complicated

EASTSIDE

Maybe watching Opening Day did it. Or the ads about getting out on the water were just so enticing that having a boat suddenly seemed rational. Just hitch up the trailer, head down to the lake, and you're in a different world.

If only it were that easy.

The truth is that like nearly everything else in the Seattle area, the simple joy of messing around with boats has been complicated by growth, economics and dozens of other factors.

For thousands of Eastside boat owners, getting on the water can be a substantial undertaking. There are fewer than a half-dozen places along the 25-mile eastern shore of Lake Washington where a boat can be launched. Each has its own restrictions, some imposed by government agencies and others simply by facts of life - limited parking and two-hour waits to get to a launching lane on a nice day.

At the single-lane Kenmore ramp run by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, for example, Ed and Penny Weber had just arrived after a six-mile drive from Woodinville as the weather neared 80 degrees.

With a 19-foot Four Winns runabout, its trailer and a Ford Explorer they bought to pull it, they had at least $40,000 invested in reaching the water.

But it's not easy to use it.

"I think there needs to be 50 million more launching ramps on the Eastside," Penny Weber said. "It's gotten ridiculous to try to launch a boat in the summer."

To use the Kenmore ramp, for example, a conservation permit costing at least $10 is required to enter the Sammamish Slough. About 50 trailer-parking spaces are available in a dirt lot, but they fill to overflowing every nice weekend.

At Kirkland, a pass-card system was begun to restrict access after the single-launch ramp there had boats lined up for blocks on nice days. The cards cost $25 for residents and $50 for nonresidents and are sold at City Hall. Parking is a problem, with a dirt lot a block north of the ramp filling every weekend in the summer and trailers spreading onto city streets.

In Bellevue, a line of trailer-parking spaces for the city's one public ramp at Southeast 40th Street is filled by the start of every weekend, and parked cars and trailers spill onto 118th Avenue Southeast.

The most elaborate ramps are at Renton's Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, where eight lanes lead into the lake, with 122 trailer parking spaces and overflow parking several blocks away.

At the most, however, the few hundred available trailer-parking spaces aren't nearly enough to meet the demand.

As of April, the state had 252,067 registered boats, the state Department of Licensing reported - up 40 percent from just a decade ago. No uniform approach to dealing with the demand exists, with ramps operated by individual cities, users often coming from out of town, and factors such as land values and community constraints making solutions difficult. Residents commonly oppose expanding parking lots, for example, and creating new lanes means acquiring expensive waterfront property.

Four years ago, Kirkland reviewed the possibility of developing the 12-acre Waverly Site that serves as the main parking area for its boat launch. The most favored park design called for a brick-and-glass fountain area and grassy mounds, along with a boat ramp but no trailer parking. It would have cost millions of dollars, and hundreds of people complained about the lack of boat-trailer parking. No money was appropriated, and no changes have been made.

In Bellevue, when launching fees were first charged in 1994, the city spent $250,000 to add parking, extend the existing ramps farther into the lake and provide restrooms.

In Renton, there's little likelihood more ramps will be built, says Jim Shepherd, parks-facilities director.

"There's the cost of property, the cost of development, but just as big would be all the environmental issues," said Shepherd, alluding to the complications of dealing with any shoreline development.

"There's nothing I know of that isn't already developed," he said.

For Renton to add more ramps, Shepherd says, the city either would have to take parts of the existing park used for swimming or buy more waterfront.

"For a city, that's a pretty significant cost," he said.

Once the money was spent, he says, there'd be the question of paying the bills, which probably would involve even higher launching or user fees than the ones already imposed - all for facilities that are overburdened at peak times but unused much of the year.

"Most people feel the return just isn't there," Shepherd said.

Doug Burbridge, president of Mercer Marine, a commercial marina next to the Bellevue ramps, has watched the hassle for 22 years.

"It's getting to the point where it's taking the fun out of boating," he said. On weekends, frustrated boat owners spill onto his property, and his own customers can't get into his boatyard.

"We have to post security guards at the entrances," he said. "Who wants to spend $25,000 on a boat when they can't use it?"

There are easier ways to get on the lake. Hand-carried craft like windsurfing boards or canoes are easy to get afloat. And several marinas, including Mercer Marine, Kirkland's Yarrow Bay Marina and Davidson's Marina in Kenmore, all provide launching services for a fee, commonly about $6 per foot of boat length for a two-way haul-out.

Still, the challenges of spending a nice afternoon on the water can be sizable.

"I think the trailer boats are getting a real bad deal," said Penny Weber. "It's easier to go to Vantage (on the Columbia River) than it is to get on the water (here)."

Peyton Whitely's phone message number is 206-464-2259. His e-mail address is: pwhi-new@seatimes.com ------------------------------- Public boat launches on the Eastside

Kenmore: Operated by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the ramp is on the Sammamish Slough at Northeast 170th Street and Juanita Drive Northeast, with access from the southbound lanes of Juanita Drive Northeast. Using the ramp requires a conservation permit, which costs $10 through the department or $11 through sporting-goods dealers, or a fishing or hunting license, which have varying prices.

Kirkland: A single lane is at 25 Lakeshore Plaza. Access is by pass cards, which are available at City Hall, 123 Fifth Ave., at a cost of $25 for Kirkland residents, $50 for nonresidents. Vehicle registration is necessary to prove residency.

Bellevue: A two-lane ramp is at Southeast 40th Street, leading west from 118th Avenue Southeast, also known as Lake Washington Boulevard Southeast. Launching costs $5, with annual permits available at City Hall, 11511 Main St., for $55 for residents, $80 for nonresidents. A computer system is used to establish residency, so vehicle registrations aren't required.

Mercer Island: A two-lane ramp is under the East Channel Bridge of Interstate 90, with access from East Mercer Way. A daily pass costs $5 and is sold by dispenser at the ramp; no residence requirements.

Renton: Eight ramps are at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, 1201 Lake Washington Blvd. N. Residents pay no launching fee, but all users have to pay a $2.25 parking fee. Nonresidents pay a $5 launching fee, plus parking. Residents can buy an annual parking permit for $15, nonresidents $50. Vehicle registrations are required to show residency, with permits available at the Renton Community Center, 1715 Maple Valley Highway.