9 Mile Launch - GONE!

[TimH]

I learned over the weekend that the "9 Mile" launch in St. Clair Shores has officially closed for good. They are getting rid of this ramp to create a much larger retention basin in an effort to contain overflow of the untreated and/or partially treated sewage that occurs when there is heavy rain. In order to do this, the ramp had to go. The good news is this should help reduce the amount of pollution that goes into the lake. The bad news is we are losing another access point to the lake.
St. Clair Shores City Council has approved the expansion of the launch at 10 mile from two lanes to five, but it will only be for residents of St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe, and Roseville due to a parks and rec consortium they have. St. Clair Shores will not longer have a ramp that is available to the general public. This leaves Crocker, Metro, and Harley Ensign as the only available public launches unless someone wants to try their luck at a Detroit launch.
It looks like the infamous 1/4 mile walk from the ramp to the parking lot at 9 mile will now only be a memory.

[bigbass201]

Guess people will be taking a longer boat ride now. I didn't know about the sewage there too! I thought it was only the Clinton River dumping it in. Thanks for the update

[piketroller]

This leaves Crocker, Metro, and Harley Ensign as the only available public launches unless someone wants to try their luck at a Detroit launch.

I didn’t know Selfridge and Fair Haven both closed as well.

[TimH]

They didn't close. I opted to list the launch sites closest to 9 mile.

[SAL321]

Crazy. Such a valuable resource and they keep restricting access. It's too bad the DNR couldn't come up with some sort of revenue sharing program to allow them to help fund it.

With Harley going under construction the better part of 2020 and the annual issues at Crocker it should be a race to the ramp. Early bird will get the worm. The rec boaters might be out of luck after 8 or 9 AM on the weekend

[Hollada]

Tim - is this published anywhere from city council meeting minutes or something similar? I’d heard from one of the gate guys that they were moving the ramp to the end of the park. This would be a different twist - or perhaps the first step?

[TimH]

Tim - is this published anywhere from city council meeting minutes or something similar? I’d heard from one of the gate guys that they were moving the ramp to the end of the park. This would be a different twist - or perhaps the first step?

I didn't want to post the whole article, but here is the section addressing the ramp closure. If you want to read the entire article, visit candgnews.com and click on the St. Clair Shores Sentinel.

Plans to relocate the boat ramp to another location on the peninsula at Nine Mile Road were estimated to cost $22 million to $23 million. Relocating the ramp to Blossom Heath was a much cheaper option, estimated to cost between $1 million and $1.6 million to fix the pavement and seawall at Blossom Heath, and to expand the launch to accommodate more boats at one time.
The Nine Mile boat ramp has been open to the public since 2012. Non-residents pay a $15 user fee to launch boats there, compared with $10 for residents. Annual passes are $65 for residents of St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe and Roseville, or $100 for non-residents. Prior to opening the ramp up to the public, the cities of Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores took turns being in charge of the ramp so their residents could use it. When Eastpointe and Roseville merged their parks and recreation department in 2011, St. Clair Shores decided to open the ramp up to public use.
The Blossom Heath boat ramp is currently only open to residents of St. Clair Shores, who still pay a $10 daily or $65 annual fee for its use. Eliminating the Nine Mile boat ramp in favor of expanding Blossom Heath would eliminate the non-resident boaters who use the Nine Mile ramp, Walby conceded.
Because the city of Eastpointe joined with St. Clair Shores in paying for the boat ramp when it was installed in 2001, Eastpointe residents would have to be allowed to use the Blossom Heath ramp if Nine Mile was eliminated, but there is not enough parking, especially on weekends, to accommodate other out-of-town boaters. With the recreation agreement between the two communities, Roseville residents may have access to the ramp, as well.

[Hollada]

Strange, I just spoke with the st Clair shores park and rec and they said it would be open.

[MichAngler]

I also heard they will be closing Harley Ensign after Labor Day for repairs, changes and work on the master plan mostly controlled by the Army Corps

[1BADAIR]

I also heard they will be closing Harley Ensign after Labor Day for repairs, changes and work on the master plan mostly controlled by the Army Corps

There were two options discussed. One was close completely for a shorter period or leave parts of the ramp open and have the construction take almost twice as long. I believe the later was chosen

[dartag1829]

Did they ever finish the work out at the end where they did the dredging. I didn't launch there last year. .

[SAL321]

At the Expo I asked the DNR if they knew what was going to happen at Harley and they said it will be in two phases the demo was to start as soon as the weather permitted.

In the conversation there is a big push to apply a permeable pavement to reduce the oils/contaminants leeching back into the water. Should be interesting.

[castforcash]

They are going to have to address that bridge right before you get to Harley soon as well. The only launch in scs that enforces the resident thing is the 11 mile launch. Blossom was a well kept secret and never super busy. It's going to be a zoo there now, unless they start enforcing the nonresident thing.

[Hollada]

Nine mile will be open in the spring. May close early in the fall ifff the final go ahead approval is given for the retention basin there. Not a done deal

[BassVoodoo]

Good to know. That is the only launch I know...Looking forward to finding the others...hopefully less used.

[twise7]

Any update on the 9 mile ramp? When will it be closed? Looking forward to spending time on St. Clair this Spring!

[datbasstho]

Ya I’m looking for an update too.
Im new to St Clair and haven’t tried launching from 9 mile.
Do you guys prefer it for locating smallies over the Metro Park launch?

Oh and FYI, Bassmasters is having their Elite tournament this August on St Clair launching from Metro, should be a fun experience.

[twise7]

Ya I’m looking for an update too.
Im new to St Clair and haven’t tried launching from 9 mile.
Do you guys prefer it for locating smallies over the Metro Park launch?

Oh and FYI, Bassmasters is having their Elite tournament this August on St Clair launching from Metro, should be a fun experience.

Depends on the time of year, water temps, etc. Early spring, ya, I prefer the 9 mile ramp and area. I’ve ran from Selfridge all the way down to 9 mile and it wasn’t that fun with the wind, waves, and boat traffic.

[SAL321]

Early in the year we just take the ride from Harley Ensign. Plenty of options in each direction if you are bumper boat fishing. At some point they will clear out Crocker and that is the next logical choice if you have the Rec Passport. It's a 5-7 minute trip to the "action" , less if you want to be on the Mile Roads.

We've been fishing the bays and if you hit them right it makes the Mile Roads boring. Looking forward to hitting the lake next weekend. Get the boat on Friday. GAME ON!

[datbasstho]

Depends on the time of year, water temps, etc. Early spring, ya, I prefer the 9 mile ramp and area. I’ve ran from Selfridge all the way down to 9 mile and it wasn’t that fun with the wind, waves, and boat traffic.

Ok I’ll try it out there in the spring.
when summer hits around July, August, and temperatures rise, you think it’s better around Metro?

Thanks for the help!