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Sandbanks at capacity all weekend

Sandbanks-beach-full
July 30, 31 and August 1 – The County’s new electronic signs were informing drivers the park was full as the Sandbanks reached capacity on all three of the holiday weekend days.

Seeking relief from extreme heat, Sandbanks Provincial Park was full to the brim with traffic backed up at least a kilometre on County Roads 11 and 12 last weekend. In response, the County and Sandbanks partnered to post new electronic warning signs on County Roads 10 and 12.

Last weekend, Agnese Bortolussi, Assistant Park Superintendent, anticipated the park would have to close its gates.

“We advise visitors to wait until after 4pm to visit Sandbanks today,” she said, just after noon.

Filed Under: Local News

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  1. Vic says:

    I find it kind of odd that there is no sign on the Loyalist Parkway west of Hillier directing folks to North Beach Provincial Park on North Beach road. This is a half size no camping version of Sandbanks Park and is far less crowded most days.We deal with tourists every week who don’t know where it is. There used to be a sign. Where did it go?

  2. Sue3 says:

    Does the county receive any money from the Sandbanks, or does it all go to the province? I’m not sure how the provincial park system works….

  3. Susan says:

    A bypass around Picton would make sense. I know businesses would scream but I am not sure they lose that much. If tourists are buying they will come to Town. Yesterday there were dozens of huge trailers clogging Main St just to go thru town and get to 49 to leave. That is not good management of traffic flow.

  4. Marnie says:

    Happy that you enjoy the transformation Chris but bear in mind that some of us are not so rah, rah, rah about seeing our town turned into Alexandria Bay. One local merchant recently told me that a number of tourists from Quebec have visited his store this summer asking to leave their garbage and use his bathroom. Their purchases? Zip. Apparently tourists who did not ask to deposit their trash at his place of business are disposing of it along county roads. Nice view. How much do these people really contribute? They swarm our beaches, take our parking, and create traffic jams because we are simply not equipped to handle the influx.

  5. Dennis Fox says:

    I think Fred has asked a great question about how our municipality benefits from tourism? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t object to tourists, but the notion that they somehow benefit us as taxpayers needs to be seriously questioned. I haven’t seen any prove that tourist dollars help to decrease the tax load for the rest of us. Think about it – how does selling a bottle of wine translate into improving the municipal coffers?
    ALSO – the idea of placing a notice board (in West Lake) advising the public that the Sandbanks are full, is crazy – why not at the entry points to the County? Oh right, they are still tourists with money in their pockets and we can’t let them get away! How sick – we have lost it.

  6. Chris Keen says:

    And so it begins……..

  7. Peter says:

    OK, so Sobey’s lot is full and the LCBO lot is an accident waiting to happen. And yes there are some tourists who have forgotten their manners. But overall it’s great to see an influx of people into the County and see our local merchants and employees rewarded. Plus, I get to watch all the different cars go by (better than the snow plow in winter) and no, I haven’t seen any garbage in my ditch. Just bewildered tourists who are seeking directions in both official languages. It’s summer… enjoy! Winter is just around the corner.

  8. Marnie says:

    Our beautiful county town has become Little Toronto with cars backed up at the stoplight at Main, Talbot and Lake Streets and no parking on Main Street. Even parking on King Street is limited. Picton and Bloomfield now are places to avoid assuming a parking slot might become available by incredible luck. On the rural road where I live there is non-stop traffic and garbage littering the ditches thanks to our tourists. All those ads on the radio and in trendy magazines have created an invasion which the county simply cannot handle. Soon this will be the place NOT to be – a congested tourist trap delightful only to those whose pockets it lines.

  9. Fred says:

    Tourism is a great thing isn’t it? How come we are so stressed and poor as a Municipality?

  10. Gary says:

    This is beyond reasonable, you cannot move in Picton. How about electronic signs alerting the Town is at capacity. And anyone entering contributes to the dire water wastewater crisis!

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