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The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Navigation Unit will be watching for speeding boaters this summer.
The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office said that as the summer season begins, boaters should be aware of the speed limit on waterways in the county.
In a news release, the sheriff’s office said it has received “an extraordinary amount of complaints regarding vessels speeding” in parts of the canal system and will be increasing patrols to look for boats traveling above the speed limit.
The sheriff’s office said that the canal is used by recreational boats, commercial operations, paddle craft, swimmers and anglers and that the Lock 23 area sees the most traffic canal traffic in the state. It is narrow and becomes very congested.
“The canal speed limit is there to protect everyone’s free and safe use of the waterway and also to protect private property owners, public and canal infrastructure from damaging wake,” the sheriff’s office said. “The speed limits apply to all vessels on the water including Personal Watercraft. The speed limit is a maximum speed limit with a NO WAKE clause.”
The release said that operators are responsible for their wake both criminally and civilly, and that navigation deputies patrolling the river this past weekend issued 39 warnings for speeding vessels. Navigation deputies will be enforcing the speed limit there and on other waterways, and advise operators to slow down to avoid a citation.
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