BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following is in response to 'LETTER: Orillia can look to Barrie for waterfront inspiration,' published Nov. 14.
Regarding the letter from Peter Bursztyn regarding the beauty of Barrie’s waterfront and the alleged “lack of public waterfront” in Orillia:
While Barrie certainly has a larger area of public waterfront dedicated to recreational use, I think Orillia does pretty well and I urge Peter to come up and visit sometime.
Orillia has three public waterfront parks: Couchiching Beach, Centennial and Tudhope parks. All of them offer exactly what Peter thinks is unique to Barrie.
To paraphrase: Beautiful. Popular. Very well used. Something for “everybody” — manicured grassy areas, children’s play areas, paths (some maintained year-round), areas left for nature. Orillia also has things Peter didn’t mention, including three lovely beaches and a dedicated fishing pier.
To be sure, Orillia’s war memorial is located elsewhere, but foxes and many other critters are abundant in our little city.
A major difference is that, in Orillia, parking in waterfront park lots is free. In Barrie, it is a staggering $10 an hour with a $50-a-day maximum for non-residents. Peter should hope that Orillia councillors don’t get any crazy ideas if they look to Barrie for inspiration.
Mark Elgar
Orillia
