Outlook Newsletter Fall 2010The opening of the much anticipated Goodland Boating Park in Collier County is good news for boaters, residents and businesses alike. Boaters launching from the park will be in close proximity to the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades National Park. Residents will have a new green space to enjoy and businesses are counting on the boat park to help generate more business.

Collier County Parks and Recreation awarded Johnson Engineering the contract to design not just any public boat ramp, but a complete 4.5 acre community boating park which would involve design, permitting, and construction management.

Our team of civil engineers, water resources engineers, ecologists, and landscape architects collaborated on all aspects of the design. Public involvement was extremely important, as the residents of this small waterfront community had concerns they wanted to make sure were addressed. The result is a beautiful park and marina, including a double boat launch, 28 boat slips, boat docks and fishing pier, in addition to a full service picnic area with benches and restrooms.

Careful planning helped increase the green space, including the use of grass pavers to allow better stormwater management and enhance landscaping and aesthetics. Because this is a salt water ramp, the grass parking needed to consist of salt tolerant turf. Coastal Zone Management and Johnson Engineering worked together to select the appropriate paspalum turf. This resulted in providing approximately 30% less impervious area on the site than would otherwise be required to accommodate the boat parking.

The park was also designed with a pedestrian pathway, benches, picnic pavilion and other passive recreation opportunities for the visitors of Goodland. The dock master building was designed to accommodate supplying boaters and residents with bait and other supplies they would need for a day on the water.

The new boating park is anticipated to contribute to the quality of life for this Goodland community, bringing in more business to area restaurants and provide fishing guides with a straight shot out to the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information, contact Chris Hagan at 239.434.0333 or [email protected].