A problem is that the other side of the river is mixed use with a lot of residential. The Town has been kicking around redevelopment of the Beach 1 area for years but a problem has been investors. The Town simply can't afford to buy up large tracts of property. Things like casinos and high-end resorts (aka Blue Mountain or Whistler on sand), which is what most investors lean towards, would completely change the use character and drive away the type of clientele they get now; day-trippers, weekend strip motel visitors. People that actually live there or own cottages avoid the area like the plague.
Another problem is mixed governance. Some of the Beach 1 area is municipal, some provincial (I don't have a clue where the lines are and suspect most of the locals don't either). The rest of the beach front (Beaches 2-8) are part of the Provincial Park and consists of the |(increasingly) narrow beach strip fronting roads and private cottages/residences, most of which date back years.
The problem of crowding dates back years, particularly on holiday weekends. I have seen the County Rd. 92, the main access from the east, backed almost to Elmvale. The crowding has been exacerbated the last few years by high water, resulting in a much narrower beach.
My feeling is that answer is to have the province acquire all the outstanding Beach space it does not own; as well as some adjacent homes/properties.
Ontario has not been investing in provincial parks for years and it shows; particularly in crowding. Campsites are almost identical in south-central Ontrario to what they were 30 years ago, but the population is up 50%.
The amount of rural area available near the City has declined substantially, while cottaging has become unaffordable for most of the middle class.
Just like campsites, beaches and day-use trails are also in short supply.
As to the locals, the good news for them is that their property values have gone way up, and would rise more with quality investment in the area.
I'm sure it would be nice for some if life could just got own as it did, and they could either have a quite small town life, or a low-cost seasonal cottage.
I'd also like to buy an East York bungalow for $180,000, instead of $1,200,000 sadly, we cannot all have things as we would like them.
Wasaga is one of the those get-away spots for GTA'ers.
We could use more of them, which would help; but nothing will seriously dent the demand for Wasaga, only , maybe, slow the growth curve a bit.
Time for Wasaga to evolve...........the motels to disappear; the park to enlarge, including supporting more Beach, more picnic space, more nature and camping. (not on the Beach)
While the rest of the town needs a re-do as well, maybe a resort, maybe just bigger, modern hotels; a row of high quality restaurant patios.......etc.
All the while the traffic jam must be addressed, initially with a modern bus terminal and highly quality bus service to K-W, Barrie and Toronto, especially on weekends, with an eye to rail service in the future.
The main road needs cycle tracks and those need to connect all the way to Barrie, to Collingwood and Owen Sound, and then south to K-W; and the local area needs a Bike-share system.
All that burden can't fall on the existing town.
Provincial money, investor money, regional money.
As to investors, no more un-proven hucksters. This is a case of looking for the big money behind major hotels/resorts or the like to be reliable partners (big enough to sue!)
Perhaps we should now return this thread to Covid.................my apologies if I've sidetracked it a bit much.
