Yankeetown Boat Ramp Inventory Usage 2014

Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Yankeetown’s Mayor and Council members for their support in
conducting the boat ramp use inventory study. Special thanks and recognition to Vice
Mayor/Acting Mayor, Larry Feldhusen who assisted, organized, and participated in
collecting boat ramp data. We also want to thank Tommy Sholes, Prior Acting Mayor;
Douglas Dame, Town Councilman; Jack Holbrook, Town resident and retired lobster
fisherman; for volunteering their time in collecting boat ramp data as well. We also
recognize the contribution of Garin Davidson, former Florida Sea Grant’s Senior GIS
analyst, who designed and implemented the boat ramp use inventory study.
It is our intention that this valuable effort by the town’s officials and citizens in providing
boat ramp information will be used to support coastal and waterway access planning
that benefits Yankeetown residents and visitors.
Yankeetown Boat Ramp Use Inventory
The project goal was to collect baseline information to assist Yankeetown authorities in
planning and managing waterway access facilities. Specific objectives included:

Determine the use profiles of boat ramps.

Determine temporal patterns of ramp use.

Determine if (and when) ramp use exceeds parking capacity.

Identify the proportion of ramp users who are local (in-county) versus non-local
(out-of-county and out-of-state).

Categorize the coastal/water-based activities of ramp users.
Methods
Three (3) public boat ramps (County Road 40, Allen Park Road, and Yankeetown Yacht
Basin) and two (2) private boat ramps (B’s Marina and Campground and Yankeetown
Marina) in Yankeetown were surveyed (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Locations of five waterway access facilities surveyed in Yankeetown.
City volunteers surveyed the five waterway access facilities 23 times starting on
December 21, 2013 and ending on May 7, 2014 (Table 1). Visits to the five boat ramps
were conducted between 9:00AM – 5:30PM on 12 weekdays and 11 weekend days. The
volunteers were trained and provided with detailed instructions on how to conduct the
survey (Appendix A). The volunteers used a data collection form to record the name of
the facility, the date and time they surveyed the facility, prevailing weather and tide
conditions, and the license plate numbers of tow vehicles and trailers parked onsite or
along right-of-ways1 (Appendix B). When adverse conditions were present (those likely
to suppress boating activity) the volunteers provided details: heavy rain, high winds,
extreme cold, ramp or access road construction. A comments column was used to enter
additional information, such as if a plate was out-of-state or government issued, the
business names of commercial entities (e.g., guide service), and, if available, the waterbased activity of the boat owner/user that day.
Information on the completed data collection forms was entered into a Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet for analysis. The trailer and tow vehicle license plate numbers were crossreferenced with the state vessel title registration system (VTRS), maintained by the
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), to determine the
origins of ramp patrons (i.e., city residents, in-county, out-of-county, and out-of-state).
Results
The County Road 40 ramp received the most use (71% of all observations) during the
survey period, followed by Yankeetown Boat Basin (10%), and Yankeetown Marina and
Allen Park Road ramp (both 8%; Figure 2). Factors that could have influenced ramp
usage on particular survey days included bad weather conditions (e.g., windy, very low
temperatures) and the lack of (limited) access to private-owned facilities (i.e.,
Yankeetown Marina).
1
Onsite parking refers to spaces that were constructed and/or dedicated for use by ramp patrons. Right-of-way
refers to ad-hoc parking by ramp patrons in locations that were not designed for that purpose.
Table 1. The number of tow vehicles and trailers observed at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities on 23 survey days.
Marina/Boat Ramp Name
(number of onsite and right-ofway parking spots)
Number of Vehicles/Trailers Observed on Twenty Three Survey Days
2013
12/21 12/28
(Sat) (Sat)
1/3
(Fri)
1/11
(Sat)
1/16
1/19
1/26
(Thu) (Sun) (Sun)
Allen Park Rd (9 / 9)
10
12
2
1
2
0
6
1/31
(Fri)
ł
NA
B's Marina (8 / 0)
3
4
0
0
0
4
3
CR 40 (32 / 22)
30
42
2
12
10
13
Yankeetown Boat Basin (0* / 10 )
4
13
2
0
0
1
Yankeetown Marina (32 / 0)
7
7
0
1
0
Survey Day Total
54
78
6
14
12
2/9
2/11
(Sun) (Tue)
2/20
(Thu)
3/21
(Fri)
2014
3/23
3/26
4/1
(Sun) (Wed) (Tue)
4/10
(Thu)
4/11
(Fri)
4/12
(Sat)
4/24
(Thu)
4/26
(Sat)
Total
Number of
Vehicles/
Trailers
4/27
5/4
5/7
(Sun) (Sun) (Wed) Observed
9
0
5
9
5
2
NA
3
NA
NA
4
NA
9
4
2
85
NA
1
3
0
2
2
0
NA
1
NA
NA
1
NA
6
1
0
31
21
NA
31
36
34
50
71
14
NA
34
65
30
41
NA
107
64
36
743
4
2
6
NA
5
NA
11
0
4
NA
NA
NA
7
16
12
13
2
102
1
2
NA
8
1
11
5
1
NA
NA
8
NA
NA
5
NA
9
14
7
87
19
36
2
55
40
55
66
90
16
4
46
65
30
58
16
143
96
47
1048
*No on-site parking spaces available, only 10 spaces to park in right-of-way.
ł
Data collection was not possible on survey date.
Yankeetown
Boat Basin
10%
Allen Park
Rd
8%
Yankeetown
Marina
8%
B's Marina
3%
CR 40
71%
Figure 2. Yankeetown’s waterway access facilities percent of users.
The relative use of the waterway access facilities varied during the project’s six month
span. Peak use at the CR 40 ramp and Yankeetown Boat Basin occurred in April, in
April and May at the Yankeetown marina, and in December at the Allen Park Road
ramp (Figure 3 and 4). B’s Marina was the only facility that exhibited a more steady use,
Counts
albeit with a slight peak in April.
300
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
Dec2013
Jan2014
Feb2014
Mar2014
Apr2014
May2014
CR 40
Water Access Facility
Figure 3. Monthly counts of vehicle/trailers at CR 40 waterway access facility.
40
35
Counts
30
25
Dec2013
20
Jan2014
Feb2014
15
Mar2014
10
Apr2014
5
May2014
0
Allen Park Rd
B's Marina
Yankeetown
Boat Basin
Yankeetown
Marina
Water Access Facility
Figure 4. Monthly counts of vehicle/trailers at four Yankeetown waterway access facilities.
The parking capacity at most waterway access facilities did not exceed the number of
patrons. The use at most access locations ranged from 15% to 55% of parking capacity
(Table 2). The use at CR 40 Boat Ramp and Yankeetown Boat Basin, however,
exceeded parking capacity on some dates. For example, the parking capacity at the CR
40 ramp was exceeded by 16% on average, with the highest use exceeding capacity by
334% (April 27, 2014). For Yankeetown Boat Basin the parking capacity was exceeded
by 100% since there are no on-site parking spaces available (Table 2). If right-of-way
spaces were taken into count, this location might reach 57% of its “capacity.” However,
this is something important to consider for future improvements at this facility, since
right-of-way parking might be a detractor for visitors to use this location and may be a
cause for parking law-enforcement issues as well.
Table 2. Average percentage of parking capacity used by patrons at five Yankeetown waterway access
facilities.
Marina/Boat Ramp Name
(number of onsite and rightof-way parking spaces)
Average Parking Capacity Used Considering:
Onsite Only
Onsite &
Right-of-Way
Allen Park Rd (9 / 9)
52%
26%
B's Marina (8 / 0)
22%
22%
CR 40 (32 / 22)
116%
69%
NA
57%
Yankeetown Marina (32 / 0)
16%
16%
All Five Facilities (81 / 41)
56%
37%
Yankeetown Boat Basin (0 / 10)
Recreational and commercial activities were observed at Yankeetown ramps. The top
five activities were kayaking, bank fishing, commercial fishing, river fishing and
sightseeing (Figure 5).
Kayaking
Bank fishing
Commercial fishing
Fishing in river
Sightseeing
Fishing inshore
Canoeing
Commercial Crabbing
Pier/dock fishing
Hunting
Oystering
Beach fishing
Crabbing
Renting Boat
Cleaning up trash
0
10
20
30
40
50
Count
Figure 5. Coastal and water-based activities observed at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities on
23 survey days from December 2013 to May 2014 (n=148).
There were 1,058 vehicle/trailer plate numbers collected during survey dates. After they
were cross-referenced with the VTRS, it was determined origin of at least 82% of the
records (869 vehicle/trailer plate numbers). No less than 99% patrons were in-state
users and only 1% were out-of-state (Table 3). Out-of-state users came from
Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, and
Virginia (Figure 5). Among Florida state users the largest contingents were from Marion
county (43%), follow by Citrus county (19%) and Levy county (14%) (Figure 6).
Table 3. Estimated number of users by place of origin at five Yankeetown’s waterway access facilities
users
Percentage of
users
Out-of-state
12
1%
Out-of-county
691
80%
In-county
146
17%
City Residents
20
2%
Users Total
869
100%
User Category
Figure 5. Origin of users observed at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities between December 2013 to May 2014.
Figure 6. Observed frequency of in-state users at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities between December 2013 to May 2014.
Recommendations

Continue monitoring water access facilities’ usage. This will contribute to wellinformed management decisions.

Perform a study that determines boat ramp users’ needs. This will help to identify
improvements needed at each water access facility and in which priority order they
should be implemented.

Improve Yankeetown’s waterways access facilities. This could help to alleviate and
prevent exceed demand on water access facilities at present and in the future. There
are some grant opportunities available that can be helpful to Yankeetown’s
authorities if money is a limited factor. The following grant opportunities run in an
annual/biannual basis:
Florida Boating Improvement Program
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission awards grants to projects that
enhance boating access and other boating-related activities on coastal and/or inland
waters of Florida. Eligible program participants include county governments,
municipalities, and other governmental entities of the State of Florida. The five
application categories include: recreational channel markers, boat access facilities,
derelict vessel removal, boater education, and economic development initiative and
other local boating-related activities. Applicants must agree to provide a share of the
total project cost in the form of in-kind services or cash expenditures.
For more information on the grant and an application form, visit:
http://myfwc.com/boating/grant-programs/fbip/
Recreational Trails Program
The Recreational Trails Program is a federally funded grant program administered by
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The program provides financial
assistance to agencies of city, county, state or federal governments, and organizations,
approved by the State, or state and federally recognized Indian tribal governments, for
the development of recreational trails, trailheads, and trailside facilities. Projects
involving non-motorized trails or combination motorized and non-motorized trails may
receive up to $200,000 in funding. Motorized projects are eligible for a maximum of
$500,000 in funding. Applicants must provide match at a rate of 80:20 (grant:match).
For more information and an application, visit the website at:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/grants/
Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) and Land and
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)
The Grants Section of the Office of Financial Management administers grants to local
governments through the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program
(FRDAP) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). These are competitive,
reimbursement grant programs which provide financial assistance for acquisition or
development of land for public outdoor recreation. Eligible participants include all
county governments, municipalities in Florida and other legally constituted local
governmental entities, with the responsibility for providing outdoor recreational sites and
facilities for the general public. The maximum grant requests for both of these
programs are $200,000.
FRDAP is a state competitive grant program that provides financial assistance to local
governments to develop and/or acquire land for public outdoor recreational purposes.
The local match requirement depends on the total project cost: if total cost is $50,000 or
less, FRDAP grant is 100%, and local match is 0%; if total cost $50,001 - 150,000, then
FRDAP grant is 75%, and local match is 25%; if total cost is over $150,000, then
FRDAP grant is 50%, and local match is 50%.
LWCF is a federal competitive program which provides grants for acquisition or
development of land for public outdoor recreation use. The matching ratio is one
applicant dollar to one federal dollar for all grant awards (50% / 50%) which can be met
through different types of match sources.
For more information on the grants and an application form, visit:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/oirs/
Florida Native Plant Society Annual Conservation Grant
The Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), whose mission is to promote the preservation,
conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of
Florida, provides up to three (3) Conservation Grants annually with up to $1,500
available for each grant.
FNPS Conservation Grants support applied conservation projects in Florida for Florida’s
rare or imperiled native plant taxa. The applicant does not have to be an FNPS
member but to qualify for a Conservation Grant, an FNPS Chapter must sponsor the
proposed project; such sponsorship is demonstrated by the signature of the Chapter
President, or designee, on the completed application. The FNPS also provides other
related grants with the same deadline as the Conservation grant and the information for
these grants can be found on the same web page below.
For more information or an application, visit the website at:
http://www.fnps.org/participate/awards
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Five Star & Urban Waters Restoration
Program
The Five Star/Urban Waters Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity
to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial
assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, forest, riparian and coastal habitat
restoration, stormwater management, outreach and stewardship with a particular focus
on water quality, watersheds and the habitats they support.
For more information, visit the website at:
http://www.nfwf.org/fivestar/Pages/2014rfp.aspx
Visit Florida: Cultural, Heritage, Rural and Nature Tourism Grant Program
The Cultural, Heritage, Rural and Nature (CHRN) program is a reimbursement program
designed to provide funding for multi-county and multi-Partner marketing projects for the
promotion of Florida’s cultural, heritage, rural, nature and education efforts. It has been
recommended by the Cultural, Heritage, Rural and Nature Tourism Committee that total
funds for this grant program during fiscal year 2014-2015 will be $150,000. This
amount is always contingent upon budget allocations and is subject to change.
For more information, visit the website at: http://www.visitflorida.org/grants/cultural,heritage,-rural-and-nature-tourism-grant-program/
Appendix A. Instructions for city volunteers to collect data at marina and boat ramps.
Instructions for Ramp and Marina Survey
The University of Florida Conservation Clinic and Florida Sea Grant are working with
the Town of Yankeetown to identify the service area of the Town’s boat ramps and
marinas, as well as, gauge the degree of use at each location.
The concept is straightforward, visit the boat ramp/marina and write down license plate
numbers of both the boat trailer and the towing vehicle. Through comparison with the
Vehicle Title and Registration System (VTRS) maintained by the Department of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, we can determine how far people travel to use the
ramp/marina, as well as estimate repeat use at the ramp/marina. The data are kept
secure and we do not access vehicle records for those owners who have requested that
their personal information not be released.
We’d like to keep the data collection process standardized to aid in the analysis so here
are some guidelines.
1) We’d like to have the ramp/marina visited on a monthly basis through January 2014.
Ideally this would occur on specified weekdays, weekends, and some holidays to
capture peak use periods.
2) To obtain the maximum number of trailer observations and to standardize data
collection for later analysis, please try to conduct surveys in the mornings to early
afternoon, between 9:00am and 1:00 pm. If that timing is not possible on all
occasions the data will still be valuable. Please write the time you arrived at the
ramp/marina on the top of each form.
3) At the top of the form are spaces to identify the ramp/marina, the date, and time.
Please remember to fill out this information.
4) If you need to use multiple forms for a single ramp/marina, please repeat the
identifying information at the top of each form. At the lower right hand corner, there
is a place to indicate how many pages comprise the record for a specific visit. This
all helps us become reorganized if pages get shuffled in transport.
5) Under the spaces for identifying information, we are asking for notes about the
presence of adverse conditions that would distract people from using the
ramp/marina on that day. This can help us look back and see why a particular
ramp/marina might have had a lower than usual count one day. It will also provide
an indication of how strongly people want to use the ramp/marina even on bad
boating days.
6) The form consists of three columns. The first column is used to record the license
plate number of the trailer. We have placed this column first since when standing at
the back of a trailer, that is usually the easiest and first plate to be read. If the trailer
does not have a license plate, cross out the box in order to positively indicate to us
that a trailer was present but had no plate. If the plate is present but all the numbers
can not be read, cross out the box, or cross out the partial number.
Note that some trailers will have plates mounted on removable light bars.
Sometimes the boater will place the light bar somewhere on the front portion of the
trailer while the boat is off the trailer. Sometimes if a pick-up truck is towing the
trailer, the boater will place the light bar in the bed of the truck with the plate hanging
over the side or tailgate. If you can read the plate numbers, go ahead and do so.
Never touch the light bar or reach into a truck bed to adjust the light bar so the plate
can be read. That is private property and we do not have authorization to trespass.
7) The second column is used to record the tow vehicle license plate.
8) The last column is used to indicate if the plates are from out of state. We’d like to
know what state the trailer or tow vehicle came from. Go ahead and write down the
plate numbers as that will allow us to identify repeat visits from the out of state
vehicles.
Some ramps/marinas are used by professional guides who have signs on their
trucks. Please use this column to help us identify guides and the ramps/marinas
they use.
If the trailer and vehicle belong to a government agency, please indicate so in this
column. Those plate numbers are difficult to match with the computer and we need
to match them manually.
9) If anyone asks that you not record their license numbers, please oblige with their
request. Just place an X or cross out the boxes on that line and make a note in the
comments box. That way we can still count their vehicle in the total count for the
day.
10) Please be careful when writing that certain letters and numbers are distinguishable
(U versus V, S versus 5, P versus D, J versus I versus 1). If the data are not written
correctly, then we won’t get a VTRS match.
11) Collections of completed forms should be delivered to Mayor Lawrence Feldhusen at
the Town Hall on 6241 Harmony Lane the first weekday after each completed survey
day.
12) Please contact Garin Davidson should you have questions regarding the
ramp/marina survey procedure. Also, please contact Garin Davidson and Mayor
Lawrence Feldhusen should you have questions regarding the weather. The
ramp/marina survey schedule identifies alternate survey dates (generally the next
weekend day) should the weather be poor for boating. It is important that you keep
each other and Garin or Larry informed of when you plan to survey the ramp/marina.
13) ABOVE ALL BE SAFE! If a situation or person looks questionable, leave the
area immediately.
While we value this data, it is not worth risking your safety.
Thomas Ankersen, Legal Skills Professor and Director of the Conservation Clinic
University of Florida Levin College of Law
[email protected]
Work (352) 273-0835
Garin Davidson, Research and Education Coordinator
University of Florida / Florida Sea Grant College Program
[email protected]
Work (352) 392-5870
Mayor Lawrence Feldhusen
Work (352) 447-2511
Appendix B. Data collection sheet used during survey of marina and boat ramps.
Boat Ramp Usage Study
Ramp Name:
Date:
Time:
Adverse Conditions, Circle if present: Heavy Rain, High Winds, Extreme Cold, Ramp or Access Road Construction
Trailer License Plate
If no plate, cross out box
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Tow Vehicle License Plate
Comments
Out of State or Govt. Plate / Guide Service