Why was boating density used as a parameter?
Boat density was considered as a parameter in determining the type of shoreline that is suitable for future high-density boat dock projects. The intent is to not place a high-density use in an area of the lake that currently has an existing high-density boat use. This may be the opposite of how it is done on the land, but on land, additional lanes and traffic lights can be added as traffic increases. The lake is a fixed area that cannot be widened to accommodate increased boat traffic in a narrow cove. Aerial photos of the lake on 10 randomly chosen holiday and weekend days between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2002 were collected and analyzed. To analyze the number of boats on Smith Mountain Lake, the lake was divided into 209 sections. Smith Mountain was divided based upon natural restrictions and coves on the lake. The boat counts were utilized to develop average boat densities for each of the sections on the lake. Boating patterns are not uniform around the lake, therefore it is inapp
