The fam was out for a drive a couple of Sundays ago and we
decided to stop by the TINY Bell-Ewart park in Innisfil for a quick picnic. You may say, "Where?!!"--good. keep it that way. Nothing to miss.
We were careful
for our own safety so we only went down when we confirmed there were not a lot
of people, which will enable social distancing in the park. There were 3 other
families at most in the park then and we were all over 30 feet away from each
other. There were also several remaining
parking spots available when we got there--no street parking or even double
parking.
We just had a quick lunch (as there was nothing much to do in
the tiny park)-- not even swimming or having a party like the other folks there.
As we were packing up to leave after less than an hour, we noticed there was a
commotion in the parking lot. We saw that cars were getting towed, including
ours. We were told that the parking was
only for residents and a small sign was pointed to us -- a sign we didn't see
as it was below eye level. There was no warning sign of towing, just an
advisory that the area was for resident parking. There were no signs on the
walls on the parking area nor in the main entrance of the parking area. It was
the parking area and no driveways or emergency access points were
blocked. Apparently, it was only for residents of Innisfil--if you find the sign. There were several other cars which got a
ticket--nobody saw the sign clearly, obviously. The town of Innisfil’s message
for all visitors is that even if there are no signs on the walls of the parking
area, there may be signs somewhere else and that you will be left with no
choice but to pay the towing company in order to go home. To issue a ticket AND call for towing for NOT
BLOCKING ANY DRIVEWAYS/EMERGENCY ACCESS is just a display of power which should
not be encouraged anywhere--especially in Canada! There were no double or
street parking that would be reflective of an overcrowded area that they claim
to have issues on or even cause traffic! It is understandable that the town has
parking issues during the summer and in heat waves, but the enforcement of
rules should be taken with common sense as well. These are not ordinary times.
In this time of the pandemic, this lack of consideration for
families just trying to enjoy the park, is truly not Canadian. We understand
that the town’s priority is for its residents. But we had in mind that other
communities and cities were in this pandemic together, along with the whole
country, the whole world! Apparently, Innisfil is not one with everyone else. As
banks and other companies waive fees or even defer payments and as the federal
government has taken many actions to alleviate the challenges faced by all
Canadians, Innisfil has instead imposed
penalties that were beyond what was necessary in the time of
the pandemic. It was a highly punitive action in this situation we are all
in. There are so many other positive ways to enforce safety so that we can all
make it through this crisis.
Surely many visitors will be turned off by the penalties
imposed. There goes their tourism. Our friends and family will surely be advised not to visit Innisfil,
nor even consider Innisfil as a place to go. Ever. There are so many other nicer, bigger,
kinder cities to explore.
