Far fewer bylaw and parking tickets were issued in Sauble Beach in 2023.
A staff report to South Bruce Peninsula council says just three provincial offence notices were issued on Sauble Beach in 2023. They were for smoking on the beach, having a dog on the beach and camping on Town land.
That’s far fewer tickets than the 740 issued in 2022. The difference, according to staff is bylaw officers used an educational approach in 2023, and only issued tickets when people refused to comply.
The report says, “Officers found that the majority of people appreciated the friendly by-law enforcement approach and in stark contract to 2022, were not angry at staff and expressed a positive Beach experience where they would come back to the Beach to vacation.”
In 2023, the Town bylaw patrolled portion of beach was smaller than past years, as it was also the first year Saugeen First Nation staff administered a larger portion of the beach which included from Main Street up to 6th Street North.
A total of 3,728 parking tickets were issued throughout the entirety of the Town of South Bruce Peninsula in 2023.
3,464 parking tickets were issued in 2022.
In 2023, Sauble Beach bylaw enforcement and paid parking brought in $754,423.
That breaks down into $574,181 from parking pass revenue, $55,000 in resident and student season pass revenue, and about $125,000 in fines.
Staff say the Town issued 1278 resident and employee parking passes. 43 of those were for employees.
Fees in 2023 at the beach were $7 an hour, $30 per day, $50 for a resident or employee season pass, and $200 for a non-resident season pass.
The staff report on parking report also shared suggestions and complaints from the public. A number of them were for more accessible parking spaces, with one comment noting, “Accessible parking spaces beside pathways which are not cleared of sand do not assist those with mobility issues in accessing the Beach.”
People requested more parking signs and meters as well as some location specific parking changes and there was a request for a dog beach area.
