Signs saying "government use only" near boating ramps on private lots to freshwater canals are causing backlash from residents who say they weren't notified the signs would go up.
"Came back about a month and a half later, a big sign in the sky 'no trespassing government use only'," said Steve Robinson.
In the past Robinson often used a boat ramp on a private lot along the Alexander Canal near SW 5th Street in Cape Coral; however, he recently learned he could no longer legally access the ramp.
"The homeowners around here they can't even put their boats in and out. So it's kind of like everybody is shut off unless you want to be illegal and I'm not a law breaker," said Robinson.
According to a city spokesperson, although the ramps are on private property they were not intended for public use.
It's not exactly clear how long the ramps have been in place; however, several residents told Fox 4 they had been launching their boats from them for years without fault prior to the "government use only" signs being erected.
"I have a boat that I put in there and I've put in there for years six years ever since I've been down here. So now they're telling me I can't put it in," said Tom Scharf.
In an email to Fox 4 a city spokesperson stated "The government use only" ramps were never intended to be accessible to the public, although it is likely that some public use occurred."
"It's crazy we have all these 4 or 5 miles of canals here and there's only one place to we can put in and now the city is saying that we can't put it in," said Tom Scharf.
