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A Sunset Point resident continues to challenge council’s barbecue ban issued this summer for the waterfront park.
Prabha Mattappally told council earlier this week the town should focus on education instead of prohibition.
“Before we start blaming people for our problems, we must stop and think about who created them,” said Mattappally. “How do people know the rules around the safe disposal of coals and dedicated bins across the park if we don’t take the time to educate people?”
Council ordered a ban of barbecues at Sunset Point Park at the end of July.
At the time, town staff noted there were safety concerns due to an increase in the use of cooking devices and the improper disposal of hot coals.
One Sunset Point resident said he witnessed people dumping coals into the bay when they were done cooking with them.
The ban only applied to Sunset Point, and people were still permitted to use barbecues at other town parks such as Millennium Park.
“If barbecues are truly a safety concern, then why weren’t they banned across all our parks?” asked Mattappally.
She noted the town built and provided public barbecues for use in the park, but has since removed them. There are charcoal disposal bins at Sunset Point Park and Millennium Park.
“You should have educated people about the disposal of coals,” said Mattappally.
As for complaints of “plumes of smoke” coming from Sunset Point, Mattappally said it’s no worse than what can come from backyard fires and barbecues in the residential area adjacent to the park.
“Barbecues at Sunset Point are not the problem. The problem lies in lack of foresight and planning,” said Mattappally.
She suggested the town get rid of the “eyesore” billboard signs at the park advising visitors of the ban and instead replace them with welcome signs that also list park rules.
She suggested the town use more revenue-generating ideas, like donation options for park visitors, and technology that allows residents to park for free without requiring an attended, designated parking lot.
“Let’s also have the guts to enforce the rules,” she said.
She acknowledged her suggestions will take time and money, but she said the park is not “ours or theirs. It’s everyone’s park.”
Mayor Brian Saunderson said the actions council took this summer to ban barbecues were temporary.
“There will be an extensive rethink moving forward, and there will be full opportunity for the public to engage in that decision,” said Saunderson.
He said council took actions to control crowds and promote social distancing “in good faith and in the best interest of our community.”
“The safety of our residents has been our number one concern during this COVID crisis,” added the mayor.
Councillor Kathy Jeffery said the process of implementing new control measures at Sunset Point has meant a lot of learning.
“I don’t regret my decision, but it would be incumbent on us to review the results of what we did,” she said.
Collingwood’s acting Chief Administrative Officer Sonya Skinner has said staff are working on a report with recommendations for more permanent changes to Sunset Point Park.
“I think that over the winter, the director of parks, recreation and culture with the other directors will be doing a bit of soul searching on the type of advice we’d like to provide to council for their decisions for next summer,” said Skinner in an interview last month with CollingwoodToday. “I suspect, given how successful remote work has been, that we’ll continue to have a lot of visitors next summer.”
