Sunset Strait boat speed limit reduced
LAKE PLACID — The North Elba Town Council adopted a law last week decreasing the speed limit for boats traveling through Sunset Strait on Lake Placid from 20 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour, and imposing a no-wake zone. The law may be revised in the future, however.
The law was adopted after boat traffic on Lake Placid increased last summer, in tandem with a rise in tourism following months of stay-at-home recommendations imposed by the state in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Sunset Strait is a narrow passageway between Buck Island and the peninsula shoreline. With new boaters flocking to the lake, North Elba town Supervisor Jay Rand said that at times, the traffic “kind of got out of control up there.”
A committee including the village mayor, town supervisor, a representative of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, two property owners, the village police chief and assistant police chief discussed ways to make the lake safer.
Rand said the part of the law imposing a no-wake zone might be revised based on feedback received from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“We’re reviewing that,” Rand said. “We’re trying to come up with a better ordinance.”
The no-wake zone part of the law was included after a public hearing on the law last week drew a few comments from property owners near the strait.
Marty Shubert, who lives on the peninsula, said he felt that the speed limit should be lower because of the wake from boats. His wife Mary Shubert, who said she loves kayaking through Sunset Strait, noted that it’s pretty narrow.
Rand told the Shuberts that, per state guidelines, there’s a 5-mile-per-hour speed limit within 100 feet of the shoreline. The narrowest part of Sunset Strait is about 340 feet from shore to shore.
Betsy Hlavacek, who owns a camp on Buck Island, said there’s a problem with erosion of the shoreline because of waves.
“There are so many people on the lake who don’t know the regulations,” she said.
Hlavacek suggested having more buoys or signage.
Diane Reynolds asked if the buoys proposed by the village — one at each end of the strait — would be large enough.
“We hope so,” Rand said. “The more you have there the better. In this case, we’ve applied for a buoy at each end of the strait.”
The town has had a constable on the lake for decades. Asked who would enforce the new law — violations will carry a fine not to exceed $250 — Rand said the town plans to make up cards, with information about how boaters should behave on the lake and what the regulations are, that the constable will be able to hand out. The town is hoping that the constable will be able to take a peace officer course in the future, but right now, the DEC is responsible for the enforcement of regulations on bodies of water, he said.