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After causing a splash at a special called City Council meeting June 17, a no-tow ordinance on the Sandy Creek arm of Lake Travis has faded away with no issues or complaints. Police Chief John Stetar said the Jonestown Police Department has not issued any citations for towing or skiing in the area.
“Everyone’s been compliant,” he said. “We’ve had no reports.”
Alderman Robert Moore said he knew of only one incident of someone towing in the area, and said he feels overall safety has improved.
“It’s been working very well,” he said of the ordinance. “It stopped the towing, which was the primary problem.”
He said people skiing or towing would often get too close to other boaters, docks or obstacles and create a safety hazard.
Several residents spoke against the ordinance at the June meeting, saying a no-tow zone was unnecessary and they simply needed more enforcement of existing laws.
“I just bought this house so I could tow my niece and nephew there. We didn’t leave that cove Memorial Day weekend,” Jason Holden, a new resident, said at the meeting.
A change in the city’s noise ordinance has also seemed to calm the waters near Devil’s Cove. The change was meant to curb loud music in the area, and Stetar said JPD has gotten few complaints. He said in most cases the problem has been resolved by issuing a warning.
“Within the city, I think we’ve only had to issue one citation for loud music,” he said.
July and August are usually quiet around the lake, Stetar said, because crowds tend to dissipate after July 4. He said holidays usually bring the most problems.
“Labor Day’s the only holiday we have left, and it’s usually not a huge one,” he said.
He added officers are enjoying the respite after the busy season brought on by July 4 and AquaPalooza.
“A lot of the officers are taking advantage of this time to rest up,” he said.
If the new ordinances are going to cause a problem, he said, it most likely won’t be until next summer, when vacationers start gearing up for a new boating season.
“I anticipated at first we would have substantial compliance, but only time will tell if it remains that way,” he said.
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Thursday, September 9, 2010 |
I would like to publicly thank the Jonestown City Council for passing the No-Tow ordinance on the small portion of the Sandy Creek Arm past Jones Brothers Park.
With the absence of constant wake action from dusk till dawn, the water is no longer a muddy, murky mess by the early afternoon. In just a few short weeks, the significant erosion of the Jonestown side of the cove has been noticably reduced.
People in kayaks and canoes are now regularly seen enjoying the lake, as well as swimmers, fishermen, and casual boaters. These relatively serene activities were all but prohibited when wakeboarding and wakesurfing ruled the day.
Most importantly, the cove is now a safe area. I’ve been able to stand on my dock without having to hold on to something while the three foot waves violently rocked everything. Boaters pass each other at reasonable speed and at safe distance. My own four year old son and his friends and relatives now enjoy afternoons of swimming without fear of what seemed to their little eyes as tsunami waves constantly coming at them.
This relatively tiny little section of Lake Travis had been held hostage by a harmful and unsafe single use for too long. Thank you for giving it back to a wide spectrum of multiple safe uses.