Redoing Roberts Point
IT'S BEING CALLED HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS, BUT MOST OF THE CHANGES WILL BE MADE ON LAND
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Proposals Boat ramps get crowded on weekends (above) because two of the four ramps are in bad shape, critics say. A proposal to revamp the marina and Roberts Point Park would repair the two ramps that are in bad shape, doubling the number that can be used. Consultants would also move the existing fish cleaning station (left) away from the ramps to its own part of the park, freeing up parking near the ramps and opening up space for visitors. The Patsy Jones Amphitheater (below) would be moved from the end of Roberts Point to a spot about halfway along the peninsula and be replaced with an observation deck on the point. The refurbished amphitheater would feature a sloped area for the audience and would eliminate the problem of vehicles driving between the audience and performers.

Nearly $2 million is in next year's city budget for what are being called "harbor improvements." But most of the money, and most of the changes, will actually be on Roberts Point, adjacent to the harbor itself.

The change that will probably draw the most praise will be adding updated restrooms.

An additional restroom building is proposed for the area near the trailer perking, and restrooms would also be added near the harbormaster's office for use by people attending events at the Fred Rhodes Memorial Pavilion as well as playground users and others.

The plan also would make improvements to at least two of the four boat ramps near the entrance to the park. Users say two of the ramps are usable, but the other two ramps are so steep "your car's in the water before your boat's afloat."

Another change proposed is to move the existing fish cleaning area from just beside the ramps to the other side of the trailer parking lot. Consultants say that will free the area around the ramps for boaters who want to put boats in the water, while placing fish cleaning in its own area.

Possibly the most controversial proposal is to move the Patsy Jones Amphitheater from its present location to a spot about halfway along the Roberts Point peninsula. This would eliminate traffic passing between the audience and performers at the popular Sunset Sounds shows as well as other events, and would let landscapers install a sloped area for the audience.

It will also let the city install an observation deck where the amphitheater is now, providing a panoramic view of the ship channel, Lydia Ann Channel and the harbor.

Moving the amphitheater wouldn't disturb the existing soccer field or the basketball or volleyball courts, planners say.

City council members also praised the idea of imposing a better organization on the boat trailer parking lot.

Part of the lot is now unpaved; even the paved surface has, at best, dim parking spot lines.

The proposal would make the parking area for boat trailers clear, and would have lines to put the trailers in some kind of order, allowing more boaters to park their trailers in the lot.

As well, the lot would be expanded as far as the north bulkhead, an area that's now unpaved and used willy-nilly for parking.

Noting that the entrance to the marina and Roberts Point Park is the first thing visitors see as they come off the ferry, consultants advised sprucing up the area, adding a variety of plantings and making it more attractive.

Every which way Boat trailer parking, now at random (below), would be put in its own area and aligned inside painted parking spaces .

The city has talked for some time of the need to expand the existing harbormaster's office. Under the proposal, it would gain a second story and be moved closer to the bulkhead that marks the boundary of the marina.

The pavilion would see the least work, being slated for a new coat of paint and some fresh signs.

In fact, consultants would rip out all the existing signs on the marina and replace them with signs that aren't (as one called them) "a mish-mash of different styles and colors."

The last time the city council got an update on the project -- during a workshop earlier this month -- they liked the ideas, and told Gignac Associates of Corpus Christi to go ahead with plans, including pricing. No date has been set for the council to hear back from the architects.