NIPIGON – During Tuesday’s regular meeting, councillors discussed an issue with people parking on the grass or under the pavilion at the marina.
In a letter to council by Marica Mableson, she expresses that if council doesn’t deter the public from parking on the grass “the land will become a mudhole when it rains and a beaten down dust bowl during the sunny weather.”
Mayor Suzzane Kukko said there is no parking signage near the area where people are parking, but asked council if they had any other way to deter people.
Coun. Greg Harper suggested staking and taping the pathway to the pavilion but was interrupted by Kukko, who believed a steel barricade would be more of a deterrent.
There is also the matter of finding a designated parking area.
Coun. Gayle Westhaver proposed using a big grassy area where the old museum was once located.
Deputy clerk Linda Berube informed council they could use that area for parking but there would be some administrative and construction costs attached.
Berube said they should encourage people to park on the shoulder.
Harper said they would have to mark the spaces.
“I think there's quite a bit of room around. I went down a few times and there seemed to be like half a dozen boats, maybe eight. There seems to be more than that sometimes. But in general, for now, I think if we designate some spots, it would go a long way to alleviate the problem,” said Harper.
On top of designating some parking spots and barricading the pathway to the pavilion, council will also add no parking signage.
Westhaver also asked if bylaw enforcement would be able to ensure the public complies with the rules.
However, Kukko pointed out that because there is no formal municipal bylaw, bylaw officers cannot police the new parking restriction.