Pleasant Beach parking problems persist despite efforts
Despite efforts from the city to redirect people to other beaches, residents of the Pleasant Beach area say they are still dealing with illegal parking.
Port Colborne city council has had meeting after meeting for which issues — including garbage disposal and parking — with Pleasant Beach have been brought up and this summer directed that signs be erected at Sherkston and Pleasant Beach roads to try to lead people to beaches that are better suited for public use, such as Nickel or Centennial beaches. But problems persist. At Monday night’s city council meeting, Ward 4 Coun. Ron Bodner read out an email from a resident on Pleasant Beach Road. The resident said more needs to be done, including additional signs to direct people all the way to the other beaches, especially because people haven’t heard of the other beaches before, whereas Pleasant Beach has a near five-star rating on Google. That rating, the resident said, draws people to the 19.8-metrewide beach at the end of Pleasant Beach Road.
The resident also claimed some area residents are causing problems by having visitors pay to park in front of their properties, but it’s ultimately city property those parking are on, so the problem doesn’t go away.
The email highlighted incidents of people barbecuing on the beach and covering coals in the sand instead of properly disposing of them, horses not being cleaned up after, and even a group of people who set up a tent to use as a washroom facility because there isn’t one on site.
Dan Aquilina, director of planning and development, said the bylaw department goes out to Pleasant Beach once a day, every day and enforces parking bylaws when they see infractions.
Bodner asked Aquilina for another staff report to again address issues. In this report, he’ is asking for details about additional signage with more specific details, such as how many kilometres away the other beaches are or how many minutes it takes to get there.
Staff will bring the additional report to council at a future meeting.