The fate of Highland Park’s only boat launch remains unclear as a park district task force continues to wrestle with issues of access and security.
The Park Avenue boat launch, just south of Highland Park’s water treatment plant, sits on city-owned land that for years has been leased to the Park District of Highland Park, which owns the boat ramp, the floating dock and the building that houses the North Shore Yacht Club.
This fall, city officials announced the boat launch area would be closed to public use in an effort to heighten security at the water plant, which provides water for 129,000 residents in Highland Park and other communities, officials have said.
But after public outcry from boaters, the city backed away from its plan to close to the boat ramp, instead agreeing to engage with the park district’s task force on how to balance security with access. This summer, the launch will remain open as the issue continues to be studied, officials have said.
At the most recent task force meeting, it appeared more work needed to be done before a compromise is reached.
City officials have recommended a perimeter fence around the water plant that would require closing the west access road, effectively reconfiguring the traffic flow to and from the boat launch.
Several of the boaters at the meeting expressed concerns that closing the west road would mean greater difficulty in maneuvering a boat trailer and less safety for pedestrians because it would require two-way traffic on the east side of the plant.
“Would it be appropriate for this committee … to ask the city whether we can discuss the option of keeping the west road open and still securing the plant so we don’t have any of these issues?” asked Susan Shenfeld, member of the North Shore Yacht Club.
Last month, members of the task force and some boaters went to the Park Avenue site for a demonstration of how the new configuration might work. At the meeting on Dec. 8, several said they came away from the visit more skeptical.
“What we learned is that it’s theoretically possible, without a boat, without traffic,” said Jean Sogin, whose husband, David, serves on the task force. “With any of those things added in, it seemed like it was going to be completely unworkable.”
Task Force Chairman David Fairman said the group intended to study the feasibility of operations given the city’s recommendation of a perimeter fence and that recommendations and concerns could be folded into the final report to the park board.
“It’s ultimately the city’s decision. … What you’re trying to do is get to the last page, which many of us like to do. But we’re trying to write the book,” Fairman said.
On Dec. 8, task force members also presented findings from visiting several other water plants on the North Shore and examining their security measures as a comparison.
“Every community had a unique set of circumstances to adapt to … balancing security and access,” said Nelson Armour, a task force member.
In a separate interview, Highland Park City Manager Ghida Neukirch stressed that the task force’s mission was not to question the city’s security plan but rather to assess the possibility of recreational programming at the site given the new fence to be built.
Neukirch said she was hopeful a “win-win” scenario could be reached for all parties.
