Parking Ticket A Lousy Welcome For Tourists

HAPPY TO SEE VACATIONERS RETURNING TO MUSKOKA - BUT WE SHOULD EXTEND THEM A WARMER WELCOME, THAN OFFERING UP A PARKING TICKET

GRAVENHURST NEEDS AN IMAGE BOOST, AND IT STARTS BY ELIMINATING PARKING FINES FOR OUR CUSTOMERS

     For the record, the parking signs in the Uptown area of the Town of Gravenhurst are ambiguous in design and wording. The standard "P" in black, centred in a circle of green, clearly identifies parking accommodation. Below this is noted, "2 HR," and then below this, "8 AM-6PM", followed by "MON - SAT." There is no indication that "2 HR" is the limit of parking. It should be written, "2 Hour Parking Limit." It should also be noted, by the way, that the two hours start, in terms of legal consequence, when your tire is chocked; two hours from this, means you're in violation, or so it notes on my own parking infraction, received this week.
     The logic of issuing parking tickets seasonally? Is there any? Please enlighten me if you can! How does a municipality like ours, adopt a seasonal parking enforcement policy, that begins when the tourists and second home owners (cottagers) arrive in May, and ends when they leave in the autumn? Is this because our town ceases to be a "going concern" in the off season, and there aren't enough cars in the whole town, to make a decent wage for a bylaw officer, enforcing parking rules? How the hell is this even lawful; to have a fair weather parking policy, being worth the paper it is written on, when it is only enforced, during the traditional vacation season in these parts? Now it might work for television's "Hooterville," and general store clerk, civil servant, Sam Drucker, but honestly, it's kind of crazy when you think about it, for a town that considers itself contemporary and progressive. You don't have to look very far into the handiwork of local council, to snag on this ridiculous policy, and wonder about what else of a similar folly, is going on at town hall. The odd thing is, our councillors like to fly well under the radar, because they don't like adverse publicity. Receiving a parking ticket is like getting hoofed in the groin, let me tell you, so it's to be expected feedback is a sure thing. So much for trying to stay out of controversy. Not having a year round parking enforcement protocol, with "boots on the ground," means the bylaw isn't a serious issue for the town; except as a means of making some extra cash when tourist season comes around.
     Before the last municipal election, I offered free heritage tutoring for council hopefuls, feeling a little out of the loop when it comes to knowing the history of the community they might soon come to govern, based on the mood of the electorate.
     I put the offer out, for one reason only. Gravenhurst in particular, loses big time, when elected council representatives, don't fully understand the heritage of their own community. A few of the more arrogant councillors I've known, over the years, have argued they already "knew it all," before they entered the race. Even this past October, there were candidates for council, who couldn't have successfully passed a basic heritage quiz, about the early years of this settlement in South Muskoka. Yet they believe they can govern, with little knowledge of how this community developed over the decades, and what kind of legacy they're expected to advance, and protect as its stewards, that has been, for long and long, the defined true character of this fine town.
     I've always made myself available, as historians should, to assist councillors and town administration generally, understand some key elements of Muskoka heritage, that time and again, arise in debate, intermingling with current affairs and new policies. History to some of these folks, is what you see when you look up at the old buildings along our main street, or what's visible of the Gravenhurst Opera House facade. Or what is in the black and white print, of local history books, which, honestly, aren't all that popular at the best of times. The history they should be concerned about, is deeper and more profound, than visual heritage, or what may or may not be stated in regional history texts. There's a profound importance, to appreciate, how from the beginning, our community was different than neighboring towns and villages; what made Gravenhurst unique, and reflective of South Muskoka? I just thought possibly, some of the eager beavers, who wanted to lead this community by example, would set an example themselves, by wanting the benefit of any insight, that helped them make more informed decisions, and represent the constituents better and more efficiently. How about the sensitivity aspect. Geez, if ever there was one major problem in this town, it's this lack of true sensitivity to the social / cultural heritage they've climbed upon, and over, to get to their council seats. They will tell you, when asked, that they are culturally mapping for our future benefit, but in fact, they are missing the point. History must be factored in!
      For starters, the resurgence of the parking fuzz, just now out of winter hibernation, was just in time, to goose our all important vacation season visitors, and second home owners (cottagers). Instead of placing a "Welcome Back to Gravenhurst Banner," across Muskoka Road, to let our visitors and cottagers know how much we appreciate their support, of our region, gosh, we send out the bylaw enforcement squad, to bust parking violators. Nothing says thanks to our seasonal friends, more than a white chalk line on the tire of the car, and possibly, if you're as unlucky as I was this week, a twenty dollar ticket lodged under your windshield wiper. This is how this municipality treats our customers, who have a two hour limit, basically, to shop along the traditional business corridor. How long does it take to order and consume lunch? How long does it take to browse the local shops? Better watch out, because you will have to time your visit, and make sure you don't take more than two hours, because it could mean a twenty dollar penalty for shopping local. It's not just ridiculous, it is, in my mind, a mean spirited enterprise, especially when you find out, that parking enforcement isn't a year-round thing. That's right, it coincides with the arrival and departure of our summer season visitors and cottagers. Yet the town wants you to "shop local," and support Uptown merchants, but at your own peril, if you happen to have a tardy streak, lack a wristwatch, or cell phone, to check the time of day. Why isn't parking enforcement a year round operation? Well, we don't have the manpower for one thing, because secondly, we don't have the money to pay for extra help. Maybe we used it all up operating the Opera House. In the summer, presumably there are programs to hire students, and besides this, there's a beefy population of visitors to town, to tag with parking infractions. Twenty bucks a pop for the officers' due diligence, getting the bad guys and gals, who monopolize parking privileges.
     From our shop, on Muskoka Road, we also perform our due diligence through these important months of enhanced commerce. We welcome our vacationing and cottaging friends back for the season, and wish them a great stay in our town, and Muskoka. Secondly, we warn them about the parking fuzz, and the way our town gets its in-season earnings, on the backs of customers, vacationers, losing track of time. We will even show them where their tires have been parked by the enforcement officers, because we think it's wrong headed, and a blow against the tourist economy we want to see flourish. I'd like to do more, to convince the town to drop this enterprise, and invest money instead; to find ways to thank tourists for choosing our community to visit, and as a place to shop. Now this would be an investment in the community, by the community, for the community, and all our guests are the beneficiaries.
     The reason I wanted to provide some history lessons to our local councillors, was to delve back in time, so they could be more fully introduced to how the tourism industry really began, and why, for all this time, it has remained the number one industry in our town and in our region. They might think they know, but most of them have never delved beyond contemporary history to find out why this is, and what might be heralded, as either a boon or a peril. Our main street business could not survive in this area, without the large infusion of customer support, we receive in the so called vacation period, from the Victoria Day long weekend, until Thanksgiving. So when the town thinks it is more self supporting than it is, retailers along the main drag may be able to shed some light on the matter; because it would be a pretty barren stretch of urban real estate, if tourism suddenly dried up, and their money was invested in some other more deserving locale. Sending out the parking cops, to bust parking violators, shows me very clearly, that these councillors are not only out of step with the precariousness of the local economy, but are totally unwilling to take the lead, and rise above others who couldn't care less if tourists are pleased with Gravenhurst or not. A critically important part of their job, or so I'm told, is economic development, yet they nickel and dime the industry that has provided the most infusion of capital, year after year, since the late 1800's. But if you were to ask these folks, if they need a little brush-up in local history, they'd wink, smile, and turn the other cheek. Who needs history when you're so darn smart, right? Well, what the town is doing with its parking crackdown, is anything but wise or smart. It is kicking tourism where it hurts.
      In the 1970's and 80's, while I was working as editor with Muskoka Publications, in Bracebridge, I witnessed a change of attitude at the municipal level, when developers and sundry other industrial investors, came to area councils, looking for support, to advance their projects. The small towns to that point, were being introduced to the kind of development investment, that translated into what we see today, as urban sprawl in the hinterland. The urban developers of Southern Ontario, were finding local councils reasonably receptive to expansion plans, but it was the boundary shift, inherent to the organization of the Regional Municipality of the District of Muskoka, established in the late 1960's, that created new urban boundaries from the much tighter restrictions to that point. While it couldn't be declared that the flood gates were opened, by the next decade, especially up to the end of the 1990's, urban sprawl was most definitely trending. It was the period I most disliked in my own history in this region, because municipalities were far too open to sacrificing the hinterland and its resources, simply to add more retail space, when it was proven by failures, that the region was seriously over-retailed. It bothered me, that we could sacrifice pastures and woodlands for the sake of a strip mall, of which the businesses were largely duplicate of what we already possessed. Keeping in mind, that councils had to make accommodations to allow for these developments, and in many cases, I watched them side with developers simply because they believed, the added commerce was going to spark many other similar investments. And create "JOBS." As a result of over-retailing, jobs were also lost, as businesses failed. They pretty much took what came down the pike, as if it was God's will to do so.
     I remember writing editorials for the newspaper, pointing out, that the tourists and cottagers we surveyed, didn't come to Muskoka for its city-like shopping venues. They came to enjoy the natural attributes of the lakeland. Commercial opportunities were needed and appreciated, in sensible proportion, and when it wasn't at the consequence of the environment. Considering that tourism has been the wind in our sails for long and long, it was then reasonable to listen to their concerns, about the way Muskoka was being carved up, to look like all the other urban areas of the province. Gravenhurst, I'm happy to say, was the hold-out municipality, because they wanted development to better suit the community's established character. It is said, that Gravenhurst was locked in the 1950's for forty years, because of this unwillingness to jump on the bandwagon, and accept anything going as far as development investment. I appreciated this, and the councils who held the high ground, refusing investment simply because it was offered to them, and it's one of the reasons we moved here in the first place. We're not anti-development people, but in this area, one of the prime tourist regions in the province, making a few wrong decisions in this regard, could cause the loss of critical tourist revenue, and re-investment in the tourism sector. Unfortunately, many more councillors, and senior town administrators, were getting cocky during these years in the wider Muskoka, trying to prove that our district wasn't the proverbial one-trick pony. There was a clear mission, to encourage industrial and residential development, with the idea, one day soon, tourism would be a secondary economic force, behind the booming year-round local economy. It was wishful thinking. Those close to the history of the region, new it was an impossibility, and a waste of energy, heading up this highway of broken dreams. Instead of investing more in the tourist industry, and all its offshoots, time and money was directed elsewhere, and by the turn of the century, it was obvious we were short a lot of tourist rooms and attractions for our seasonal visitors and cottagers. In the mission to prove we could be a year round economic boom-region, we found ourselves flat-footed, facing the deficiencies of an under-funded, and under-nurtured tourist economy. We haven't caught up yet.
    If we really valued the tourist economy for its saving graces, of our region, well sir, we'd have a banner stretching across Muskoka Road today, heartily welcoming our visitors back to town. Better than this, how about dropping the punitive welcome, our town provides, ticketing visitors who stay Uptown too long? Imagine that eh?  You can shop Uptown but don't be longer than two hours, or else. Or you can hop-scotch your vehicle like I do, just to mess with bylaw officers. It's sort of a road-runner, coyote kind of thing, or like the Marx Brother's "Hat Caper" skit. Look it up. Most of our customers really don't want to do this, and prefer instead, to just drive away looking at Gravenhurst in their rear view mirror. In Bracebridge, with its meters, you can protect yourself by paying for a three hour limit. Here, well, the two hours begins when the parking police chalk your tires, which, necessitates running back to the car, to find out if you've been tagged or not. Pain in the ass comes to mind. It would be better to drop the whole enterprise. It would be welcomed by us all, who value the tourism economy, and want it to survive and expand in the future.
    When someone asks "What's wrong with the Town of Gravenhurst," is it any wonder, the first response from a local citizen, is to give a shake of the head, as if the visual is more effective than any verbal explanation, to be garnered in the same amount of reaction time. I really should have just posted a video of me shaking my head, and saved all this stress on my fingers, pounding down on this poor, beat-up keyboard. Well, it cured my anger temporarily, at least.
    In summation, our municipality should not be short sighted about the welfare of the tourism industry as it exists today. There is much to be gained by fostering an even better relationship with our visitors. We should think back, and give credit to an industry that has played a huge role over many generations, keeping the local economy bouyed-up, when it was needed most. Taking it for granted, while other regions are investing millions of dollars, to compete for that same tourist dollar, isn't good business any way you look at it!
     As for changing the opinion of Town Hall? I know you're shaking your head again! Nuff said! Citizen power? That's a horse of a different color! Count me in!