By Staff
June 7th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The weather was warm and the locals got a little restless.
A Burlington resident wrote saying the last she had heard was that ‘there was still a pandemic and there were some rules on social distancing and being out with crowds of people that were not immediate family.
“Last time I checked there was still a pandemic and provincial rules were still in effect.”
Our reader reports that on Saturday there was “a party in the park with well over 100 attendees.”
“There was garbage and smashed beer bottles everywhere. Nearby residents had to listen to the pounding of their music well past the 11pm noise bylaw.
“No bylaw officers and no police attended. The park was all cleaned up this morning by city workers and this is what it looks like by 5pm.
“A downtown business owner caught someone defecating in between the buildings.
“We have found discarded Gatorade bottles filled with urine on our property. We are constantly being awoken at all hours of the night by the cars with the modified mufflers racing up Lakeshore.
The Pier was packed – the breezes would make Covid19 concerns a little easier to live with.
“There is never any enforcement by police or bylaw. Downtown is going downhill fast.
“We have sent numerous letters of complaint to the Mayor and Ward 2 Councillor.
“The people who live in this neighborhood are not very impressed.”
The Bylaw enforcement people do not patrol the city – they respond to specific complaints and they investigate.
The police do patrol and they do respond directly to complaints.
The owners of this hospitality facility were fully aware of what the rules are – why they weren’t observed and enforced is something they will have to explain – to whom?
The Mayor invites direct contact but is not always able to respond immediately. The ward 2 Councillor is involved in other interests.
People may hear from these two elected officials during the week we are into.
If this kind of behaviour becomes a pattern there is going to have to be an increase in the police presence.
Can the demand for public space and a place to be outside be met in Spencer Smith Park?
Colette,
Burlington was determined to be the” best mid-sized city in Canada” by people who did not live here, and the city has run with it.
Personally, every time I see a city bulletin that ends with the above it makes me want to laugh.
To her defence Lisa Kearns has responded to emails and has been reaching out to HRP. She at least acknowledges when there is a problem and tries to do something about it. The mayor would rather just insist that there is no problem. That there is no risk outdoors. ♀️ So many mixed messages. Burlington used to be the best mid sized city in Canada.
Maybe we should decrease the number if fireman who are all on part time
Schedules making close to or over 100k to pretend to work hard and deploy some savings into cleaning up the cesspool of what Burlington has become in certain areas
Seriously? No Respect everything Law enforcement and first responders do .Maybe you should ride along for a day and I’m sure you would change your attitude
sorry ,get over yourselves its been a brutal year people cant stand being barricaded any longer
There is much going on behind the scenes that most residents don’t realize. It is not uncommon to see limousines parked in front of the Water Street Cooker and Emma’s Back Porch.
I have been led to believe that people can book private parties at these locations ( during a pandemic lockdown).
Where indeed is the by-law officer? Perhaps they only work virtually from Monday-Friday.
In the past when there was a noise issue at the bar of the then Travelodge Hotel on Lakeshore Road the by-law officer who I contacted about this situation wanted to tell the owners of the establishment when and what time he would be coming. I told him that defeated the purpose. His visit should not be booked in advance.
The problem was finally solved when after speaking to the manager of the hotel it was discovered that an auxiliary door to the bar was being kept open. This door was being left open when the room became hot and the music then was creating an issue to everyone who lived nearby. Once the door was kept closed the problem no longer existed.
The by-law officer had no part in correcting this problem.
Did you inquire how noise complaints are investigated before you imply By law did nothing ? Why do people chose to live downtown yet complain about noise . Certain procedures need to be followed in order to investigate a noise complaint as noise is subjective and not measured with a decimal instrument Perhaps the officer booked an appointment to mediate issue . Don’t assume how to do someone’s job until you filled those shoes
and didn’t we hire a bunch of new bylaw enforcement offices for just such an
occasion ?
Laws/rules without enforcement are just requests.
It is not burlington residents not behaving..it is people coming from HOT spots..i overheard many saying this. PLEASE PROTECT BURLINGTON LIKE WE DO MAYOR
She’s too busy virtue signalling to actually do something about it. The Mayor of Port Colborne took measures to ensure that people were not coming from outside the region. We should be doing the same. We do not have the facilities to accommodate the numbers coming from elsewhere.
Oops with their extra fee collection
Where do DBA stand on this with their e
I take issue with the caption that the “Ward
2 councillor is involved in other interests” ….this is unfair to people in public office…no one can be expected to be on the job 24/7. We need to encourage people who run for office not denigrate them for issues that they cannot control.
This type of behaviour to the folks who live in the downtown area is not one of a kind.
Past attempts to curb this type of abuse were at time given lip service especially by our by law department. Remember them? They are hired by us the tax payer to help but are difficult to communicate with and almost impossible to contact when enforcement is required.
The 11:00 noise curfew had been flounced on weekends until a court decision had to prompt some action.
The lounging and cigarette butt abuse on our sidewalks in front of a recognized night club downtown should prompt action (should?)
I agree the downtown has the potential of inspiring a family experience in a very growing residential downtown community. Obviously some attempts have been made but looking at the big picture with the future potential of what the Downtown has to offer we the community must raise our voices.
Yes I’m ready to move away from this visually beautiful downtown core
Well said Judith. Many of us are looking at moving out of the downtown. 2 years ago it was the best place to live, not so much now.
Not the best opening line to use during National Indigenous History Month…
Editor’s note: Good point – will change the wording
And now they are going to cause yet more chaos by opening our patios as early as this weekend. I’m ok with that if they only allow Burlington residents to go but we will have people pouring in from all over.
Disgusting !!
It is bizar….people young and old, are not very much adhering to the Covid-19 measures put in place. Burlington’s numbers of Covid are generally low, but are recently higher than Oakville. As much as we all want to go back to “normal”, it won’t happen for a very long time, if our citizens’ behaviour does not change. And as far as the waste left behind is concerned, it is a shame that our City (one of the best cities in which to live) is getting low marks. Policing is very much needed it seems to me, with stiff fines that hurt when rules are not observed. We need to end this pandemic quickly, we are all fatigued, but judging by what is happening along our waterfront, we will all be in for the long haul, maybe by Fall if we are lucky! My humble opinion.