'I’m just about at the point of locking it down': Haldimand discusses Port Maitland tourism nightmare

The heat and delights of summer have arrived, but with the sweet comes the sour: the unsavoury activities of previous years at Port Maitland have returned in full force.

I can't put up with these people anymore," said Haldimand resident Pete Smith. At some point, you wonder where people lost respect for anything good."

The avid fisherman said he's seen it all, and recently, referring to men urinating off boats facing playground children and chuckling; illegal camping in the park, using residents' property as a toilet; and littering.

It costs nothing to clean up after yourself," he said. It costs the rest of us enjoyment."

At council's June 30 meeting, Coun. Rob Shirton wanted to know what more could be done, saying the problem had gone on too long.

Port Maitland is still an S.S. show," he said. People are there all hours of the night, residents not being able to sleep, people three in the morning fishing, camping, (residents) calling the OPP, OPP not showing up, not responding," he said.

I don't know what we need to do, but I'm just about at the point of locking it down. I don't want to see that happen."

The county's director of planning and development, Mike Evers, said that aside from added trash bins and portable toilets, bylaw enforcement, who were operating seven days a week at Port Maitland, had handed out dozens and dozens" of tickets, that interactions with the public had been relatively positive in their outcomes.

Then came the sour.

It would seem that a lot of the problems and issues we're having is happening after hours when our staff are not present," said Evers. We depend upon the OPP for that."

Haldimand's OPP detachment has not responded to the Sachem's request for comment on Evers' statement.

We're doing everything we can," said Evers. But outside of business hours, there is very little we can do from an enforcement standpoint."

Yet there are things happening in the background.

Earlier this year, staff presented options that were being investigated, listing proposed operational improvements for the year as well as future capital improvements.

An engineering study was done, identifying solutions to deal with parking, security, access and payment options, lighting, and improvements to the boat ramp and docks. The county plan is to implement the changes in 2022.

Staff investigations into user fees would be completed during the detailed design stage.

There have been 25 parking spots added, and shoulder parking has been improved for EMS and fire services.

Staff reviewed the feasibility of installing live-feed cameras in Port Maitland to display on the county website, allowing potential visitors to access a view of the park remotely and hopefully deter visitation when the park is already at capacity. Multiple internet providers were contacted and none could guarantee a reliable internet source at this time. Staff are continuing to develop a potential camera/hardware solution for possible implementation when a reliable internet source does become available.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When we learned the frustrations had already escalated in Port Maitland, we wanted to know more about what the county was doing to deal with the issue.