March 15, 2022
Norfolk County Mayor and Council
50 Colborne Street South
Simcoe, ON N3Y 4H3
Dear Mayor Chopp and Councillors,
We are writing on behalf of our respective Long Point businesses, some of which have individually been operating for almost 100 years in Long Point.
We appreciate Norfolk County’s efforts to find a reasonable solution to the municipality’s parking challenges but with surging inflation hurting businesses and consumers alike, we urge you to amend your parking pilot project to lower parking costs on families.
Specifically, we respectfully request Council to consider reducing the proposed parking fee of $6 per hour to $3 per hour in Long Point. We also request consideration of a maximum daily parking fee to $20 as per staff’s recommendation in their extensive report to Council.
We understand Port Dover Board of Trade’s position with regards to a $6 fee so as to make spaces available to their customers and to encourage turnover of parking spaces along the Main Street. Long Point does not have a central business district like Port Dover does therefore we don’t share those same issues identified by Port Dover Board of Trade.
Furthermore, $6 per hour will create more demand for a much cheaper day pass to enter the provincial park thereby creating increased demand to enter the park resulting in a line-up of vehicles on Erie Boulevard.
The daily rate to enter the park is $12.25. Reducing the hourly rate to $3 per hour will encourage families to use County parking rather than wait in long lines for much cheaper parking.
We also wish to inform Council that the Long Point Country Chamber of Commerce has advised us that they were not formally consulted on the County’s pilot parking project.
In closing, $6 per hour is too expensive for families wishing to spend a day at the beach. With surging inflation driving prices higher for food, gasoline and other items, all levels of government should be looking for ways to help make life more affordable for families, not raising fees just to take a trip to the beach. Naturally we are concerned that visitors who have to pay high parking fees won’t be able to afford to spend money in Long Point and surrounding communities.
While we understand that this is a three month pilot project, those three months are our lifeline following three years of a bridge under construction, high water headaches and COVID-19 lockdowns. After all we’ve been through over the last few years, businesses in Long Point and families need all the help from government we can get. With that in mind, we respectfully request that the pilot be amended to $3 per hour with a daily maximum of $20 in Long Point with increased enforcement and increased fines to be reviewed together at the end of the pilot project.
Yours very truly,
OLD CUT BOAT LIVERY LTD.
SANDBOY MARINA LTD.
MARINA SHORES LTD.
OLD CUT MARINA LTD.
AT THE BRIDGE
UDDERLEE KOOL
LONG POINT STEAK & FROZEN FOOD COMPANY
THE CHIP SHIP
OLD CUT BOAT LIVERY 