Banning personal barbecues and tents is a real possibility in Barrie parks this summer.
Councillors will consider initial approval tonight of a motion to prohibit cooking appliances in parks — unless a designated community use barbecue, installed by the city or otherwise authorized by it — and ban tents and sunshades in parks, unless they only have one supporting pole and one wall or side.
The disposal or depositing of community use barbecue coals in any waste container, or any other location other than those designated for their safe disposal, would also be prohibited.
Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents downtown Barrie and much of the city’s stock of waterfront parks, said people will still be able to barbecue in Barrie parks.
“City staff will be installing permanent community use barbecues in Centennial Park and Tyndale Park, which will allow people to safely enjoy the waterfront, while addressing resident concerns,” he said. “Our waterfront is for everyone and I love seeing families enjoy the space for family gatherings and other social events.
“We need to ensure that this enjoyment can continue as our city grows and these measures help us do that," Aylwin added.
“The operations (department) team plans to pour the concrete pads as soon as possible, weather-dependent,” Coun. Natalie Harris said of the community barbecues. “According to staff, they already have the barbecues on hand and will likely be placed in May.”
“This is good news in my opinion as I never agreed with banning barbecues completely,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “The problems we had resulted from people who were not safely disposing of coals, leading to fire risk. Obviously, that’s not safe and we need to address that. Also, on days where there were a large number of barbecues everywhere in the park, there were complaints from other beach-goers about smoke.
“However, for many families a barbecue is part of going to the beach and I did not want to take away a great family tradition, especially as more people move to Barrie from cultures where barbecuing is a common part of a day out with family or friends,” Lehman added.
“When I was younger, I remember the barbecues on posts at Centennial (Park) that the city provided, so this is nothing new. By providing fixed locations with proper barbecues, there will be fewer issues, both because they are safer — coals don’t need to be disposed of — and because they will be in one area of the park, the smoke impact should be lessened.”
The proposed changes to the parks use bylaw banning personal barbecues, or other cooking appliances, and tents or other large sunshades would apply to all city parks, both waterfront and inland, unless authorized by the city for permitted special events.
The set fine could range from $100 to $1,000, based on the nature of the offence.
There is no provision in the parks-use bylaw regarding the use of barbecues or other cooking appliances, other than open fires, which are prohibited unless authorized by the city.
This situation is related to the pandemic.
Last year, regions south of Barrie had more restrictive COVID-19 regulations; their beaches and waterfront parks were closed to the public. So people came to Barrie, resulting in overcrowded city beaches and waterfront parks with larger gatherings than permitted by local regulations.
Barbecues and other cooking appliances resulted in complaints due to smoke and odours by both park users and area residents. In addition, city staff also noted increased garbage and debris — as well as dumping of materials that were still a potential ignition source.
Tents and other large sunshade structures also contributed to the overcrowding and congregating, along with being a public safety concern; they obstruct the view of lifeguards and parents for those in the water. Complaints were also received about what was going on inside tents, including using them as washrooms.
“Unfortunately, I think the (tent) ban is necessary only because our lifeguards are complaining about not being able to see past them to ensure safety, and also because they can take up a lot of space – people are bringing bigger and bigger structures,” Lehman said. “Umbrellas will still be allowed.”
Last July 8, a city emergency order temporarily banned barbecue use or other cooking appliances in Wilkins Park and other beach areas within Barrie’s waterfront parks. Another emergency order July 25 temporarily banned barbecues and other cooking appliances, and using tents, from all city waterfront parks, beaches and trails.
In both cases, city staff were to have zero tolerance for enforcing these orders.
Although permanent, community-use barbecue appliances were approved for Centennial Beach’s reconstruction, and other waterfront park locations, their installation was delayed by the pandemic.
The installation of permanent community-use barbecue facilities and coal disposal receptacles is to begin in the spring of 2021, in two phases. The first is to include the installation of up to six permanent community-use charcoal barbecues in a designated location at Centennial Park, and the second phase will include installing permanent community use charcoal barbecues in a designated location in Tyndale Park.
Current restrictions on barbecue use fall under a parks policy, which bans the use of propane appliances in Barrie parks without city authorization. Using charcoal appliances is permitted under the policy, provided there is a means to extinguish and dispose of the coals.
But issues with charcoal appliances use include dumping hot coals into park waste receptacles, dumping them into the lake and leaving coals at the site where the appliance was used. In addition, concerns have been raised about smoke and odours as these appliances can be set up anywhere in a park.
City staff have found the use of barbecues, both propane and charcoal, in the parks has increased as park use has changed to more full-day visits rather than a short stay and swim. Citizens are utilizing Barrie parks not only as a general gathering place, but have also started using the various parks for family events and community gatherings, according to city staff.
