Goderich beach front boardwalk (Credit: Fadi Didi)
Despite COVID-19 limiting indoor dining and group gatherings, Goderich Mayor John Grace says some measures from Town Hall helped in mitigating damage to the local economy.
Grace says the first was the mandate to allow restaurants to create outdoor patio space, and continue operations.
Several Goderich restaurants expanded onto nearby walkways and parking spaces this summer, allowing for an outdoor dining experience never offered in the town before.
Grace says the opening of the beach also kept an influx of visitors streaming into Goderich, although new management efforts were brought to the town’s shoreline to control gatherings.
“It was all about keeping people safe.”
By-law officers and members of the Huron County OPP patrolled Goderich’s beaches for crowds, and sometimes turned patrons away when the shoreline was at capacity.