Crowds flock to Niagara beaches
Waterfronts hot destination as temperature reaches 33 C
With all of Niagara under a heat alert, crowds flocked to its beaches over the weekend. From west St. Catharines to Port Colborne, the waterfront was a busy place.
At Sunset Beach in St. Catharines Sunday, there was lots of sun, sand, water — everything but garbage cans.
At 33 C, it was too hot to stand for long on the sand and stones with just bare feet.
The beach was busy but not packed, and spots did open up in the parking lot for anyone who was patient.
“Everybody’s doing well,” said Elaina Wilkinson, of St. Catharines, who was there with her family.
“It’s been a hot few weeks, and (the beach) is a godsend because you don’t have many places to go if you don’t have a pool.”
People appeared to be careful about social distancing. Mid-afternoon, the groups were small but spread out.
“You know what, I know a lot of people are not wearing masks, but they’re kind of spreading themselves out,” said Gerry St. Jean of St. Catharines.
But, he said, “I wish there were garbage cans here” on the beach.
“If you go up near the building, it’s packed with garbage. That’s the only problem I find with this place, there’s no place to put garbage.”
Nina Dao, at the beach with her friend Selena Meloche, both from Niagara Falls, agreed trash was a problem.
“They should have a concession stand that sells water or food, stuff like that,” she said.
“They could make a lot of money here … I’m so dehydrated.”
Last week, the City of St. Catharines announced barricades at Sunset Beach and the beach at Lakeside Park would come down June 19, but the venues would not fully open with washrooms until June 26.
It warned until then, the beaches would not be groomed.
Though Port Colborne’s Nickel Beach was still closed, people walked around two locked yellow gates — clearly marked no trespassing — on the west side of Lake Road to access the beach.
The beach and surrounding area are owned by Vale, which has leased it to the city for more
than 100 years.
Vehicles were parked in noparking zones near an old entrance to the Vale property.
At the open Humberstone Centennial Park Beach on Vimy Road, vehicles filled the lot and people were barbecuing in the shaded areas of the park, with hammocks hung between some trees.
In Wainfleet, a township bylaw officer dealt with dozens of illegally parked cars on Lakeshore Road, between Quarry Road and Oakwood Cemetery.
People packed Reebs Bay beach as well as Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area.
Nickel Beach in Port Colborne and beaches Wainfleet officially reopen Friday.