South Bruce Peninsula officials are preparing for the influx of tourists to Sauble Beach this Civic Holiday long weekend.
Mayor Janice Jackson says they were overwhelmed by an estimated 150,000 people who flocked to Sauble Beach during the Canada Day long weekend and with hot temperatures forecast this weekend, they're expecting similar crowds.
She says they had never seen crowds like that before, and the infrastructure was unable to cope with demand, leading to backed up washrooms and widespread littering, made worse by hungry seagulls.
Jackson says they are ready for this long weekend.
"An additional by-law officer that's going to be out there, we have the OPP on ATV's on the beach, that's going to happen this weekend," says Jackson. "We've brought in 14 additional porta-potties to help us with that, we've got 80 garbage barrels that are going to be on Lakeshore [Boulevard], as well as some larger barrels."
Jackson says they believe the massive long weekend crowds at Sauble Beach are going to become the norm rather than the exception, and they're asking visitors to respect the community and the beach.
"We love to see our visitors come and enjoy the beach, we won't tolerate the beach being trashed as it was pretty much on Canada Day weekend," says Jackson. "We've put measures in place, we're welcoming and we hope you have a great time, but we won't tolerate what happened last time."
Jackson adds any additional costs associated with the long weekend won't be saddled on taxpayers, pointing out they will draw on paid parking revenue to cover the extra expenses.
