Ok, I looked into the closure at the URI Dock and had ther opportunity to correspond with a gentleman from the NBC Facilities division which manages the pier in support of it's primary function, support of the research vessels. He was kind enough to repsond to my inquiry on the possible closure.
My question to him was about the possible closure of the dock for access to the public and to anglers. Here is his reply:
<blockquote><hr>
Mr. Redmond: Lisa asked me to respond to your inquiry about the GSO Dock,
since I am responsible for facilities here at the Bay Campus. At present
the dock has not been closed off, but we are giving serious consideration
to doing so. Our reasons for considering closing off the pier have to do
with safety and sanitation. Our experience over the last few years is that
some of the people who fish from the pier have become increasingly
inconsiderate of others. They have cleaned their fish and left entrails on
the pier; they have urinated and even defecated on the pier; and there have
been instances of excessive alcohol use and unsafe behavior on the pier.
This sort of behavior detracts from the pier's primary function, which is
to support the operations of our research vessels. It also creates hazards
and additional work for our own employees.
<hr></blockquote>
It is difficult to argue with reasoning like that, as some of our less considerate brother anglers have been known to leave a facility worse than when they arrived. Unfortunately, this is something most if not all of us have seen.
What steps do you think can be made to keep this access available and perhaps improve the relationship between the average angler and those that run this facility??? Personally, I have never fished this location but I think that, as a group, we need to pitch in to keep access open to all...
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