Wilkins Beach, one of Barrie's hidden gems, is being tarnished by the antics of visitors, says a Barrie city councillor.
Social media was ablaze in recent days showing the garbage and crowds that took over Wilkins Beach, located off of Crimson Ridge Road in the city's south end, this past weekend. The scenes depict loud music, large groups and garbage all over.
Ward 10 councillor Mike McCann said he was “disgusted” by what he saw. He said he will be asking for the beaches to be closed to prevent further damage to the area and to stop any spreading of COVID-19 in the city.
“I was down there and I asked people where they were from and I heard Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, all the COVID problem areas,” said McCann. “Our numbers have been great and I don’t want a GTA problem to become a Barrie problem.”
McCann called Wilkins Beach a “hidden gem in this city and it needs to be protected.” He added that there are turtles, ducks, fish, and other wildlife that call the area home.
He said the actions of those who descended on the beach area has a negative impact on the city.
“The infrastructure isn’t designed for that kind of activity or those crowds,” said McCann. “They aren’t spending any money in the city whether through parking or food being there isn’t really any shopping close by," he said.
"They left all their garbage there and so that actually only costs Barrie citizens money. Trust me, the residents I spoke to are losing their minds and it needs to stop," said McCann.
Kathryn Bennett, who lives near the park, said what's going on is 'dangerous.'
“I avoid it completely on the weekends and have to limit my time during the week," said Bennett. "The cars lined up on the road on the weekend are crazy and dangerous, really.
"There are no pay parking spots and the garbage that is there after everyone leaves is too much," she said. "I’m here right now (Monday morning) and there is still so much garbage, feces and barbecue grates laying all over.”
According to the city's manager of enforcement services, Tammy Banting, from June 29 to July 5 there were 32 complaints received by her department. Gatherings (11 complaints), businesses (four complaints, including complaints of health regulations), park (equipment use, 16 complaints) and two-metre distancing (one complaint).
Banting said there were close to 1,000 tickets issued at the city’s waterfront this past week alone.
“Our enforcement services staff completed 412 patrols of parks and facilities and found 138 violations, mostly use of beaches, dogs off leash, smoking, use of equipment,” said Banting. “There were 993 tickets issued at the waterfront during this week with 344 of those on the weekend.”
