Should We No Wake The Entire Fox?

At last night's Common Council meeting, the council by a 5-2 vote (Esslinger/Palmeri voting no) extended the no wake zone on the Fox River to include that section flowing through the Leach Amphiteater site (i.e. the area where we will place floating docks).

Ken Bender and Bryan Bain raised the possibility of extending the no wake zone to include the entire Fox River through Oshkosh. Currently, we have what former Oshkosh Chief of Police David Erickson called a "giant barbell" pattern on the river. That is, we have no wake zones on two ends of the river but a huge stretch running through the city of Oshkosh that allows boating at any speed.

I voted "no" not because I was necessarily opposed to no waking the Leach site, but because I thought the issue raised by Bender and Bain is a legitimate safety concern that should be addressed sooner rather than later. I thought that a majority "no" vote would force that discussion. We did not get that vote, and so I suspect we will not have that discussion unless we get substantial citizen feedback or (let's hope not) we have some kind of terrible accident on the river that is linked to the giant barbell.

Certainly many power boaters would oppose no waking the Fox through Oshkosh; they and other boaters would raise legitimate concerns about time, fuel use, and other issues. Kayakers, paddle boaters, and others might welcome the change. Bottom line: With the great increase in boat traffic and recreational use of the river over the last 10 years I don't think it's in the city's best interest to put off this discussion.

What are your thoughts on no waking the entire Fox through Oshkosh? You can post here or email me at tpalmeri@ci.oshkosh.wi.us or call me at 235-1116.