Howard Stoner: Huge no wake zone being proposed for Glendale Harbor region

To The Daily Sun,

Imagine a small New Hampshire town of several hundred residents, with a single north-south boulevard. Since the village has no commercial properties, that road is the only means by which people can drive to the stores and services upon which they depend, all of which are well south of town.

A portion of the boulevard is quite narrow, with homes pressed up closely to it, and years ago, vehicles became restricted to a speed that is little more than a brisk walking pace. The balance of the roadway is wide and unobstructed, so the speed limit is set at 45 MPH during daylight and 25 MPH at night.

But some of the residents — and other interested parties — have decided that “walking speed” should apply to the entirety of the boulevard. Much of their objection to the normal speed limit is related to non-residents cruising the boulevard on summer weekends and creating traffic problems. Happily, the village police station sits directly on the boulevard, at the junction of its narrowest and widest points!

This little fable was offered to analogize what is occurring right now — but on the waters of Glendale Harbor — in Gilford. For many years, a No Wake Zone (NWZ) has been in place from roughly abeam the Marine Patrol headquarters and south. The design of the NWZ offers swift and easy access to the Glendale Docks with its trash containers, mail boxes and parking. At the same time, the speed restriction through the narrowed channel to Fay’s Boatyard and the marina was and is prudent.

Presently, there is a move afoot by certain water-fronting/abutting property owners, and others, to extend the NWZ further north to Belknap Point (Lake Marker 26), and west to include the channel between Lockes and Pig islands. This would effectively restrict operations on the entirety of the waters south of the Point to walking speed.

On September 22, the above referenced parties convened a “virtual” hearing on this matter. Almost certainly, only a relative handful of the Gilford Islands’ residents had any knowledge of this proceeding. Precedent to this, in all matters great and small that affect islanders, the president of the Gilford Islands Association has been quick to advise all members of of the association. In this case, there was. . . silence. By virtue of that, a great many of us were not heard.

The comment period on the expanded No Wake Zone in Glendale Harbor ends on or about the 29th, and may be sent to: SAFETY-HEARINGS@dos.nh.gov

Howard Stoner

Gilford