After an incursion of visitors mostly from La Belle Province, a normally sedate South Stormont waterfront park will return to its quiet nature.
After consulting with parks and recreation staff earlier this week, South Stormont Mayor Bryan McGillis said a tough decision had to be made.
“Because of COVID (precautions), we have to close the park,” McGillis said. “Because of the overflow coming out of town, there was an influx of people there.”
Long overlooked by tourists who favour the nearby Long Sault Parkway, the park doesn’t even have a standard place-name sign at its entrance.
Like much of the St. Lawrence River waterfront, it was created by the Seaway flooding. On Google Maps it is identified as Avonmore Beach (its access is County Rd. 15, informally known as Avonmore Road.) It also has signs marking it as Ontario Historical site and recognition by the Lost Villages Historical Society. A small cairn is located beside the access road bearing the name of the lost village of Moulinette.
There is a beach of sorts there, although it is largely populated by small stones both on the ground and in the shallow waters. Left comparatively alone by out-of-towners it is usually visited by locals looking to enjoy a small corner of forested waterfront where they can picnic, watch birds and let their dogs roam without leashes.
This summer that has changed. With little to no municipal staff available to supervise, the little park has been overrun with people congregating in close corners, a situation perfect for causing a COVID-19 flare-up.
To properly supervise admittance and use of the park, McGillis said it would require “a lot of manpower” – a luxury the township doesn’t have available for the rest of the summer.
“The manpower is for taking care of (portable) washrooms, which need disinfecting and for people so they can wash their hands,” McGillis said.
“We did not see how that would be possible this year, so we going to get prepared for next year,” he said, predicting the pandemic could remain a reality until then.
The mayor said with the proper resources and planning Avonmore Beach and other green spaces could be made ready. He cited a recent trip he took to Wasaga Beach where visitors followed rules closely and admittance was controlled by staff.
Asked if the beach could reopen during the quieter fall season, he said it would prudent to hold off until the township was ready.
In the meantime, McGillis said his township and neighbouring South Dundas have brought the issue of out-of-town visitors who are not complying with health guidelines to Premier Doug Ford.
