You can't have anything nice

I received the following photos and email from Lilliana Dones, president of the Grove Chamber of Commerce and member of the Village Council. (If you click on the photos, they will open larger).

"What you saw today, unfortunately, is the norm. In fact it's not over. As I write this (8:30 pm) I have a good view of the ramp, and it looks like Sea Tow is over there dealing with something, and possibly a police boat with lights flashing. Can't tell because it's too dark.

The overcrowding makes for tension between the ramp users. Living across the street, and being regular walkers of the parks and marina, we have observed, in the last couple years how the boats kept getting bigger so the trailers got bigger, and so did the SUV's that need to haul them, resulting in some of the images we took on Saturday of last week.

Trailers dangling precariously, sometimes ending in the water when the driver, at the end of the day of sun and fun (and possibly, some beers) hits reverse. I have also seen quite a few cars end up in the water, including a BMW and a Hummer.

Then there are the ones that simply ignore the No Parking or Ramp Full signs and park on the grass, which results in burned up grass. (Fortunately for the grass, it's been raining a lot). The Marina security guard on duty when these photos were taken, told us they were there when she arrived in the morning and she promptly called the Miami Parking Authority (MPA), which showed up while we were still on the lot.

On the way back from our walk, we checked the windshields, curious to see what the ticket would be. There were no tickets. We then saw the MPA officer, who explained a he called the towing company.

Anyone who's ever had the experience of having a car towed can only imagine the extreme hassle of having to retrieve a towed trailer, especially at the end of a day in which you are, for sure, tired, irritable and wanting to go home. (What do you do with the boat while you go fetch the trailer back from who know where?) . But get this, one of the homeless who hang out beneath the big tree came over and pointed out he had warned these guys about getting towed, and their response was "we don't care, we have money." Money for what? At the end of the day they still had to fetch their trailers themselves!

When Seminole ramp was redone a few years ago, there were nice landscaping details, such as hedges surrounding the parking lot.

I recall going to the presentations before the Seminole Boat Ramp was redone, and that was a big deal because it somewhat screened the cars from view of those using the walking and jogging path. Due to the large size of the vehicles, the have literally "grilled" away the hedge.

All this was once covered with hedge. Also, here is another side effect: garbage cans filled to brim (most are before noon on a Saturday). And speaking of garbage, notice the garbage on the rocks.

We agree that power boaters need have a place to launch, but the Seminole Boat Ramp has long been outgrown. To insist it remain is not unlike Cinderella's step sisters trying to shoe-horn their way into that glass slipper."