July 12, 2000
Corps
of Engineers Lets Vessels Pull in
for Riverfront Events
SHELDON S. SHAFER, The Courier-Journal
Waterfront officials are installing a $20,000 system of shock-absorbing vinyl bumpers, or fenders, along about 800 feet of the downtown wharf so
boaters can dock and watch riverside activity.
The new fenders - between the Waterfront Development Corp. office near Joe's Crab Shack and the water feature near the Great Lawn - should be installed in time for the
Rockin' at Riverpoints concert at 6 p.m. Friday, said Mike Kimmel, the waterfront agency's deputy director.
He said there should be room for 20 to 25 boats to tie up, on a firstcome basis.
The Army Corps of Engineers said in 1995 that boats couldn't tie up at the wharf. It feared they might interfere with commercial vessels approaching the Kentucky shore to line up to enter the McAlpine Locks.
But in May, after long negotiations with the waterfront agency, the corps conditionally permitted pleasure craft to tie up along part of the wharf.
Waterfront and county officials agreed to provide two police boats to patrol the wharf during events that would draw large numbers of pleasure craft to the shore. They also agreed to erect additional markers to keep pleasure boats away from the commercial channel.
Since then, a handful of boats have taken advantage of a docking area near the Star of
Louisville, just downriver from the new system of fenders. The wharf area near the Star - near the Clark Memorial Bridge - has a series of concrete pillars for boats to tie up. The area also has a retaining wall.
The area where the fenders are going doesn't have a retaining wall, and it isn't safe for boats to land without the shock absorbers.
The fenders - white, pillowlike and about 2 feet long - will rise and fall with the river and will be removed in winter, Kimmel said.
Boats will be allowed to tie up at the wharf at any time.
In a related matter, work began this week on installing a permanent docking system at Waterfront Park's harbor. It will cost about $500,000. It is also provided by the waterfront agency, and should be done by Labor Day, Kimmel said. The cost includes piers, slips and dredging.
The harbor docking system will have room for 10 to 15 pleasure boats. Three more docking spaces are being reserved for the county river-patrol boat, the waterfront agency's maintenance boat and for a boat owned by a company that has a deal with the agency to offer parasailing.
Boaters usually will need a permit from the waterfront agency to tie up in the harbor. The exception will be during a few major events when boats can dock on a first-come basis, Kimmel said.
