CNBNews Weekly Poll: Should Fishing Be Banned at Freedom Pier?
Sunday, July 29, 2012
BY BILL CLEARY
(cnbnews.net)Gloucester City Council introduced an Ordinance on First
reading July 28 that forbids fishing at Freedom Pier, King and Cumberland Streets. The site is the future home of the proposed Otts Restaurant. The new law came about because of a few fishermen who are trashing the area which is located at the former Coast Guard Base on the Delaware River. Trash is also a problem at the nearby Proprietor’s Park Fishing Pier but that pier will remain open. Second reading and final adoption of the new law is scheduled for August 16.
A number of people are against the ordinance and have commented on the topic. See story. Here are a few remarks.
Wil Levins said...I am not trying to play Monday Morning Quarterback - as I have stated many of these things on the record before - but I believe it would have made more sense to wait for a restaurant deal to be in the actual construction stages before making aesthetic enhancements to the pier. Spending a whole lot of public funds to enhance the pier ($1.6 million) in advance of a deal seemed premature, wasteful, and as seen, hard to protect. Security, construction costs, architectural design, landscape planning, pedestrian access, regional promotion, traffic access, and many more topics could have all been done in conjunction with the new restaurateurs to provide an overall comprehensive plan for Freedom Pier's eventual completion - which would have yielded lower costs and less headaches to the taxpayer and City Government. I also do not believe this project needed to be done in order to lure a business to that site, as a good entrepreneur or developer would see Freedom Pier for the same potential we all have seen in it for years.
Ken Doyle said... I have fished with people on Freedom Pier and we have cleaned up after ourselves.We cleaned up after other people too. The City has placed their NO FISHING signs up at the entrance to the pier. I am disgusted with this decision and feel it is unfair and unjust to take their anger out on all fishermen.The damage to the pier, broken lights etc., was done by idiots walking on the pier. NOT FISHERMEN. I have seen no signs up yet to stop people from walking on the pier. I would have been more than happy to help out with the cleaning of the pier but they, the city, jumped the gun. I know they want their pier just for Otts.Well they can have it. I will soon get myself out of the town as it is turning into a slum around here.
CNBNEWS said: When all else fails our leaders automatically pass another law.That is always their answer.
Gloucester City has laws that forbid littering, laws for picking up after your dog, laws for cutting your grass, laws for maintaining your property, laws against parking your boat/cargo trailer on the street, laws against almost anything you can imagine. Yet walk around our community and you will discover one violation after another.
Until people have pride in their community all the laws in the world won't do a thing in stopping the trash problem at Freedom Pier.
Dan Reader said: I would like to offer a compromise, put in a water line, cage it for it's protection and I will come on Saturday or Sunday to hose off whatever bait remains are there. I will build a bait cutting board or table and put it on the pier. When or if OTT's ever builds it's restaurant we can move the bait cutting table over to the smaller fishing pier. In case people don't realize fishing is a good business, it generates dollars into local economies, food, gear, fuel, rentals,etc. so lets figure out a way to promote it keep the problems to a minimal and bring in much needed revenue.
This week’s poll question...
“Should fishing be banned from Freedom Pier?”
Yes
No
The poll will end midnight Saturday, August 4.
To vote see widget top right column.
Last Week Results (July 22 to July 29)
Question. Re: Colorado Massacre: Should gun laws be tighten?
YES 37.99% (68 votes)
NO 62.01% (111 votes)
Total Votes: 179