PA Fish and Boat Commission Approves Slow No Wake Zone for Redbank Creek

HARRISBURG, Pa. (EYT) – At its formal meeting on July 10, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission approved a Slow No Wake zone for Redbank Creek.

According to a press release, the creek has traditionally been treated as a Slow No Wake zone without officially being identified as one. The official designation will go into effect upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

The official designation has been in the works for nearly a year as a landowner representing other landowners along the creek attended the Commission’s September 2017 meeting to voice concerns about boating safety.

Jeffrey Pfister explained that the amount of boating traffic entering Redbank Creek from Pool 9 on the Allegheny River has dramatically increased and this growing traffic goes above the Slow No Wake zone even at points when the creek narrows to less than 200 feet in width. Pfister explained that this traffic led to a collection of landowners petitioning the Commission for Redbank Creek to be officially designated as a Slow No Wake zone.

In response to the petition, the Commission’s Bureau of Law Enforcement staff from the Northwest Region launched an investigation into the matter. Upon investigating, it was confirmed that the creek does indeed narrow to a point that causes the entrance from the river to quickly become congested with boats. It was also noted that the presence of an old railroad bridge also added to the congestion as boats must navigate under and between the bridge abutments to travel safely.

As it turned out, the Allegheny Land Trust (who owns the bridge), was also concerned about the wakes as they fear it will cause erosion damage to the bridge and the shoreline because of an excessive break in a confined area. The Trust has agreed to allow signage to be posted on the bridge structure to inform boaters of the Slow No Wake zone.