Toronto Is Now Cracking Down On Beach Parties & Will Be Handing Out Tickets This Weekend
It looks like Toronto bylaw officers will be fighting back against partygoers that took over city beaches last weekend. After photos of heaps of garbage emerged on social media, a new ticketing blitz has been set in place. According to city councillor Brad Bradford, the new initiative will crackdown on Toronto beach parties.
Over the weekend, groups of locals were spotted gathering at both Woodbine and Cherry Beach.
Crowds were so bad that Doug Ford even compared them to the beaches down in Florida.
Brad Bradford, the city councillor for Ward 19, announced on June 23 that he would be improving efforts to keep city beaches clean during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The new initiative will see a crackdown on beachgoers who failed to practice physical distancing or pick up after themselves.
So, if you’re heading down to the beach this weekend make sure to keep your distance and dispose of your trash.
“I asked our bylaw officers and Toronto Police to be out issuing tickets for ignoring physical distancing rules, littering, and other anti-social behaviour on the Beach like starting fires," Bradford wrote in an update.
"This is starting now and will be ramped-up over the coming weekend. We are also trying to fix a lot of the underlying issues with the way maintenance for the beach is coordinated.”
So next time you are at one of the city's popular beaches, you can probably expect to see a few more tickets being handed out.
“It’s back to basics for picking up the garbage in a city as large as Toronto, but sometimes these systems need overhauling (staffing shifts need changing, different equipment needs to be found, etc.). That takes time, so thank you to everyone for your patience with that,” he added.
Bradford noted that he has also asked for more signs to be put up along the beaches to warn people of the consequences of littering.
The new initiative comes as the City of Toronto enters stage two of the province's reopening plans.
Facilities such as pools, hair salons and malls are now allowed to open their doors under strict safety guidelines.