Outdoors

La Crosse is ready to ask consultant to continue study of boat docking

Published

5 years ago

July 4, 2019

Brad Williams

For the big paddlewheelers and the small family motorboats, La Crosse wants to be more river friendly.

Plans to hire a boat docking consultant are being sent to the full city council for a vote next week.

Mayor Tim Kabat said a new docking area would have to be more durable than a previous docking facility used on the levee.

“There was a small facility at Riverside Park, but it wasn’t able to withstand the pounding and the difficult currents and everything there,” Kabat said.

The park department says one owner of the big cruise boats has plans to quadruple its stops in the area.

The proposed consulting firm, SmithGroup JJR, has already done the first phase of a docking plan.

SmithGroup would be paid $190,000 to conduct the new phase of the study.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.