City staff are preparing for a busy Victoria Day long weekend with outdoor amenities such as sports fields and boat launches being re-opened as per the province's decree issued Thursday.
Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke is happy to see the gradual re-opening of the province, but is concerned the timing could cause the city to be inundated with out-of-towners this weekend.
“Certainly, last year we became a destination for many people, which normally we love and welcome, but during the pandemic, of course, the love that we have for our visitors we can’t show,” Clarke said.
“I’m concerned that with past behaviours and because we can’t kick the waterfront program into place yet, that we probably are going to see a lot of people here this weekend," said the mayor, referencing the city's program requiring visitors to pay to park at waterfront lots and to launch boats; that begins the first weekend of June.
Clarke says he is in full support of opening some of the safer outdoor activities, but disagrees with opening boat launches now.
“I think it’s problematic. I believe it creates a reason for people to come here from out of town, and we only have two (municipal) boat launches so they are going to be pinch points,” he said.
“I get that once you’re on a boat it’s relatively safe assuming you are with the right people, but if we observe significant poor behaviour and gatherings then we will have to look at the possibility of shutting them down," he warned.
Preparing for a potential surge of out-of-towners is especially difficult due to the short notice given by the provincial government with Premier Doug Ford’s announcement coming late yesterday afternoon, the mayor noted.
“It’s a little late to get into a communications campaign. I’m unsure of the effect it would have in short order,” Clarke said.
“However, we are in constant contact with the OPP, they are aware of some of the issues that could happen this weekend, our by-law folks and some other people from the city will be observing the situation this weekend as well," he said.
While Clarke expects some bad behaviour, he is hopeful that everybody will continue to do their part to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We’ve come so far, we got almost 60% of Ontarians with their first shot and second shots are rolling out ... we just need to be a little patient for a little longer,” he said.
“If people are insisting on taking part in activities that are now allowed then they bloody well do so safely - that is my hope.”
Clarke also stressed the city may need more time to get everything open.
“We are getting everything open that we can for the weekend, and if it’s just the case of unlocking something like a tennis court then we are going to be doing that, but not everything will be open,” Clarke said.
“For example, washrooms are a little more problematic with the notice we’ve had to get staff in. We are scurrying around, and we are on it right now.”
