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Engineer presents $2.2M preliminary Riverside boat‑ramp plan, flags environmental permits
Summary
Engineer Hans Wilson presented a preliminary Riverside boat‑ramp plan that would require dredging to −5 ft MLLW, a 1,108‑ft navigation channel and a protective peninsula; Wilson estimated construction near $2.2 million and said state and federal permitting (DEP, Corps, NMFS) and manatee/slip‑credit issues must be addressed.
The city’s hired engineer, Hans Wilson, outlined a preliminary plan to replace lost downtown boat‑ramp capacity at a site adjacent to Riverside Park. Wilson said surveys show very shallow nearshore depths requiring dredging to reach a maintained −5‑foot mean low water channel and proposed a 1,108‑foot navigation channel with a 40‑ft channel width and a protective peninsula to receive dredge material and act as a wave break. "So Downtown Fort Myers had a ... an 18 slip. ... We're out 18 spaces," Wilson said, explaining the city's loss of motor‑vehicle trailer parking and slips downtown and the goal to restore capacity.
Wilson estimated initial construction cost around $2.2 million and said environmental and resource issues — small‑to‑sawfish habitat, manatee protections, wave exposure and likely coordination with the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) grant that prohibits boating access on part of the park — complicate scope and permitting. He recommended further redesigns to reduce cost and planned meetings with DEP and FCT to determine whether combining adjacent properties could create enough upland space and slip credits to meet county manatee‑plan requirements.
