The End of Tobermory?????

[Paul Tonet]

Death and Taxes, a few certainties in life. I have been going to Toby for 15 plus years, 10 of which I laid down some roots in the area. As Stoo has mentioned, YOY the traffic continues to build(our secret is getting out to the masses). As the traffic build so does the impact meaning:
• New parking lots being built
• Traffic jams
• Cost to fire service/EMS/policing due to increased emergency calls/
• And garbage all over the place

Put it into perspective, so you will pay $5.00 for a coffee, supporting a company with a market cap of $85BN and you are pissing and moaning that you have to pay for parking to support a community do to increased foot traffic……. Come on… we are pay to play society we all know this.

Death and Taxes.. Get busy living or get busy dying…….

Other sporting options if this is a deal breaker:

Horse shoes
Darts
Rock paper scrissors

 

[Blue Quaker]

Death and Taxes, a few certainties in life. I have been going to Toby for 15 plus years, 10 of which I laid down some roots in the area. As Stoo has mentioned, YOY the traffic continues to build(our secret is getting out to the masses). As the traffic build so does the impact meaning:
• New parking lots are being built by the tour operators for their clients to use, not by the municipality for the public to use
• Traffic jams increased traffic because of an advertising/media drive by the local authorities and businesses to increase business/revenues
• Cost to fire service/EMS/policing due to increased emergency calls/ mostly highway traffic accidents due to speeding, according to the local fire captain
• And garbage all over the place the municipality just removed the bear proof garbage bins so now the critters can spread the garbage all over the streets

Put it into perspective, so you will pay $5.00 for a coffee, supporting a company with a market cap of $85BN and you are pissing and moaning that you have to pay for parking to support a community do to increased foot traffic I have never paid $5.00 for a coffee anywhere and I won't be any time soon ……. Come on… we are pay to play society we all know this.

Death and Taxes.. Get busy living or get busy dying…….

Other sporting options if this is a deal breaker:
The current situation does nothing to enhance anyone's visit...Tourists are pissed...businesses are pissed... 17 written submissions complaining about the mess by local businesses at one council meeting a week ago Monday (3 special council meeting held to discuss the issue during the 17 days I was there) should tell you that there is a problem that goes way beyond just the diving population.
Cheers,
Norman H.
Horse shoes
Darts
Rock paper scrissors

 

[NorthernPike]

• And garbage all over the place
...you are pissing and moaning that you have to pay for parking to support a community do to...

Just the facts Ma'am.
No pissing and moaning here, though if I were a local business owner that might be different. The same brilliant minds who imposed the new parking regime, also removed garbage receptacles.

BTW, I always pick up other people's garbage at places like the lighthouse.

 

[Paul Tonet]

Norman
1.Sing Sands(although Parks Canada driven) but yes the operators are building, same impact thou regardless of the financier.....Plus not all are coming to see FP...
2.Traffic well, I guess you got me on that one.
3.More people , more traffic greater prob of more calls, speeding , texting whatever... doesn't matter costs aren't allocated due to casuals.... Hey I know the Fire Chief really well too, we had beers at my place last week Small world.....
4.Garbage was the last # of years, nothing to do with the NBP garbage change TY. I guess you didn't see the garbage in the parking lot behind the Legion. My Bad should have been more clear
5. Good stuff not supporting SBUX, they treat growers like $hit, although the RF alliance and in their case FT alliance helps. I am still a make my own at home type as well. Good stuff
6.This will hurt some but will benefit others. When all the tourist leave the area and things return to normal at the end of the season those who pay property taxes both seasonal and for the town folks, it may divert some of the tax revenue to other areas in need, like improved housing for seniors, or that new piece of rescue equipment for picking people off the cliffs at the Grotto, or maybe an extra bit at the food bank for a family in need at Christmas etc... but whatever

Last point then I will stop wasting peoples time, Toby is a expensive place no argument. However if this is what is standing between coming and experiencing one of the best kept areas, then their loss.

I hear Peelie Island is really nice too!!!

 

[Blue Quaker]

Norman
1.Sing Sands(although Parks Canada driven) but yes the operators are building, same impact thou regardless of the financier.....Plus not all are coming to see FP...
2.Traffic well, I guess you got me on that one.
3.More people , more traffic greater prob of more calls, speeding , texting whatever... doesn't matter costs aren't allocated due to casuals.... Hey I know the Fire Chief really well too, we had beers at my place last week Small world.....
4.Garbage was the last # of years, nothing to do with the NBP garbage change TY. I guess you didn't see the garbage in the parking lot behind the Legion. My Bad should have been more clear
5. Good stuff not supporting SBUX, they treat growers like $hit, although the RF alliance and in their case FT alliance helps. I am still a make my own at home type as well. Good stuff
6.This will hurt some but will benefit others. When all the tourist leave the area and things return to normal at the end of the season those who pay property taxes both seasonal and for the town folks, it may divert some of the tax revenue to other areas in need, like improved housing for seniors, or that new piece of rescue equipment for picking people off the cliffs at the Grotto, or maybe an extra bit at the food bank for a family in need at Christmas etc... but whatever

Last point then I will stop wasting peoples time, Toby is a expensive place no argument. However if this is what is standing between coming and experiencing one of the best kept areas, then their loss.

I hear Peelie Island is really nice too!!!

Hi Paul,
We actually went up in June this year to avoid the crowds that we saw last year in August. This trip was more like what Toby was like 30 years ago...empty car parks, no crowds in the shops and no "aggro" when launching our boat at the slip in Little Tub. Say "Hi" to Steve T. the next time you see him for me. I have known him a long time....certified him as a TDI instructor and even done a body search for the Park off his boat on one trip up there.....What is happening with the parking won't stop us from making the trip up there in the future, but there was a lot of negative feedback from people we spoke to, and in conversations overheard when parking the truck.
Cheers,
Norman H.

 

[Stoo]

Last summer I had a very enjoyable interaction at the Community Centre with a large extended family of New Canadians in 3 or 4 cars, who were on the last leg of their vacation before heading back to the big city.
I gave a diving mask to 2 little boys, with the hope that I might inspire the next generation to explore the underwater world and maybe start their own tradition of visiting Tobermory and making good memories.
Had these limits been in place then, none of that would have happened.

I'm really having trouble following this logic. Assuming 4 cars, they would have needed to invest $12. Possibly more than once if they went to more than one area.

By way of an update, it's my understanding that the two hour limit in most areas has been extended to 3 hours. Speaking with a couple of downtown merchants, they seem to like the parking as it keeps people from abandoning their cars in one of the limited downtown spaces.

I was also reminded that the paid parking times are 9 - 6. So unloading your gear or popping into Craigies for an early breakfast are unaffected. Similarly, coming into town for icecream of dinner and pops at the 'Nest or TBC are unaffected.

The dive community seems to be the only ones bothered by this inconvenience. The town was PACKED on the weekend and it still is.

"The End of Tobermory" was perhaps a little dramatic.

Hah hah: if I want a seasonal $100 parking pass I have to appear *in person* between 8:30Am and 4:30pm *Monday through Friday* in freaking Lions Head?!?!?

Or at the Township Office on Tob, and I believe the Harbour Master has them as well... on weekends. Their office is adjacent to the Ferry Dock, just past the Chart Shop (across the harbour from me)

 

[Stoo]

Reading this thread in it's entirety, three things came to mind... First, that much of the information is wrong, so before you get your thong twisted, make sure you have some idea of the truth...

Second, if you are "threatening" to stay away from town because of this, then my guess is that you are one of those people who doesn't really contribute much to the town anyway... perhaps an "up and back" traveller. Nobody cares if YOU don't come to town.

Third, I'm pretty sure that Tobermory is possibly the last town in Ontario to instigate paid parking. As Paul mentioned, the municpality needs money... largely due to the increase in tourism. Having 10-15,000 strangers blow into town every weekend adds tremendously to the demand on resources. The traffic downtown is insane on weekends now (speaking as someone who launches a boat every morning down there) so frankly if paid parking keeps a few cars out of downtown, then I can understand the appeal.

This programme may have been rolled out poorly, but the reality is that it just isn't that big of a deal. I imagine it will be tweaked a couple of times. yet.

Come or don't come, few really care. Diving is a tiny, tiny part of the tourism business in Tobermory at this point. Counting heads on boats, my guess is that the Blue Heron Company (which operates eight tour boats, as well as two hotels, four retail outlets and a group of rental cottages) probably does more business on a long weekend than both dive shops do in a season.

 

[Blue Quaker]

Come or don't come, few really care. Diving is a tiny, tiny part of the tourism business in Tobermory at this point. Counting heads on boats, my guess is that the Blue Heron Company (which operates eight tour boats, as well as two hotels, four retail outlets and a group of rental cottages) probably does more business on a long weekend than both dive shops do in a season.

Hi Stoo,
Blue Heron was the company who organized the 17 Little Tub business written submissions to the council, objecting to the new parking regime, so even they are concerned about future business. Talking to the dive shops, it seems that walk on snorkel traffic makes up far more business now than taking divers out to the wrecks, so a lack of divers might not be noticed by anyone in the long run. The people I spoke to who were locals with no significant financial involvement in the tourist business actually hoped that the parking would put people off from coming to Toby so they could have a bit more peace and quiet than they have now.
The folks with a business interest in tourism were worried that although people would be showing up in droves this year, the parking system might turn them off coming to Toby in future years and damaging their business investment long term. There have been several "boom and bust" activities in Toby over the years , diving included. My first year diving up there my divers registration park tag (1983) number was #4000+ when I registered. Each year my tag number has declined.... This year it was below #200......
Cheers,
Norman H.

 

[sebtdi]

Stoo

I sent you a personal email, unrelated to this post

 

[Paul Tonet]

Hey Norm
Look up the list of current NBP councilors, and see if there is a correlation with your last post.