A boat launch area at Beltzville State Park may soon be more accessible to people with disabilities.

The Carbon County Planning Commission, on Tuesday, provided a letter outlining its comprehensive planning review for the proposed Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation ADA accessible boat launch project at the Preachers Camp boat launch at Beltzville Lake."The proposed project is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Carbon County Comprehensive and Greenway Plan to improve the overall aesthetics, remove safety concerns of existing recreational areas and create access to these facilities for all visitors and residents with specialized needs throughout Carbon County," David Bodnar, county planning director, wrote.Beltzville Lake is a 949-acre lake that attracts approximately 500,000 visitors annually. An estimated 185,000 do some type of boating or fishing activities, the project outline states.The $27,296 project calls for placing an ADA compliant access trail to the launch site, install an ADA compliant accessible transfer system and provide a rack for canoes and kayaks to be stored when not in use.Devin Buzard, park manager for the state park, said in a letter of support to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development's Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program, that the project supports the park's goals "to provide quality visitor services to all state park customers while at the same time removing attitudinal and physical barriers allowing access to facilities and programs for all visitors, especially population groups with specialized needs."Beltzville State Park will provide $4,094.40 toward the overall cost of the project through its park operations funding.The launch area that will be modified currently has four ADA parking spaces designated closest to the launch but people must "traverse a 75-foot grass covered path in order to access this point for launching," the project outline states. "This poses a significant problem and unstable conditions particularly when the entry point becomes wet."The project will be completed by the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, the staff at Beltzville State Park, the Beltzville Friends group and EZ Docks.The project is anticipated to begin in April 2017 and be completed next July.