The town beach has an ever-increasing problem: too many canoes and kayaks, not enough room on the storage racks, and too many angry residents. Harbormaster Bob O’Shea has a proposal that the town adopt a “key management system,” whereby the only boats stored at the beach would be town-owned canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats, available for rental to Harvard residents. There would be no provision for residents to store their own canoes and kayaks at the beach.
“The proposal is a radical change,” O’Shea said, “and people don’t like change.” Still, in a recent interview, he seemed excited and optimistic about his new idea. The public is invited to weigh in at the Nov. 20 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.
O’Shea said that based on current use, he figures the new system would need about 20 boats—six canoes and 14 kayaks—which means only four storage racks. Paddle boats could be stored on a vertical rack. A renter would punch in a password at a metal kiosk, and that would release a key that would unlock a specific boat padlock. “Kind of like an ATM,” explained O’Shea. This proposal might require a small capital outlay from Parks and Rec for the kiosk, but it would be a self-supporting system. O’Shea said he is quite confident there would be people willing to donate boats for rental.
O’Shea pointed out several advantages to this recommendation. The new system would address the frustrations inherent in the current lottery system, both the competition for a spot and the annoyance at people who don’t end up using the spot they won. It would end the need to impound boats without stickers. It would give people who don’t own a canoe or kayak the opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of boating. A less crowded and nicer beach area would result, he said, and there would be much less paperwork for already overburdened Parks and Rec commissioners.
O’Shea acknowledged again that it would be quite a change, but he argued that the current system has become more unworkable every year, as a growing number of people enter the lottery for a canoe or kayak rack slot to keep a boat at the town beach. According to O’Shea, this past year 70 people lost out on a slot, despite the five additional racks that had been built to accommodate a total of 126 boats. “There isn’t obvious space to place 11 more racks at the beach,” said O’Shea. To add to people’s frustration, 10 to 20 percent of registered spots remained empty all summer or held a boat that never moved all season. Some people racked their boats without a sticker, and some people left their boats on the ground.
O’Shea described some “compromise” measures that might be helpful in alleviating the problem, though not really solving it. A certain number of spots would be reserved on the bottom and middle of racks for use by physically challenged boaters. The change would be that a lottery winner doesn’t “own” a spot. One’s sticker would still be numbered, but the number wouldn’t have to match the slot. “It would be like overselling an airplane,” O’Shea explained, where more slots could be released as people gave them up. Another important point is that every shelf would be turned into two rental positions. A canoe owner would pay for two positions, with a fee of $40 rather than $30, and a kayak would fill one position. This sharing of space, along with some additional racks in the woods, would accommodate an increased number of boats.
But a more permanent solution needs to be found, because the number of boaters seems to keep increasing, and the beach is running out of space. O’Shea said a new system is worth trying. The decision rests with the Parks and Recreation Commission.
To view an example of a key management system, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaKgYNV9X08.
