Dear editor:

Part two of a long-view perspective involves tourism. It may seem that concerns about its facilitation and growth are relatively new. It has, however, been an issue since the 1970s.

I was involved in building out the first wing of the Pillar and Post in 1972, adding modestly to the hotel room count to complement that of the Oban Inn. Coupled with the increased demand associated with the new Festival Theatre, it quickly became a popular landing place for visitors who wanted to stay overnight.

Additions were subsequently added, along with the opening of Queen’s Landing and the rapid growth of the bed and breakfast network. Although a Saturday morning trip to Queen Street was better made by bicycle, as car traffic had by then become dominant, the situation seemed sustainable.

It was, in fact, being promoted by our chamber of commerce and leaders of the wider Niagara community, who were attempting to increase the number of visitors as well as encourage them to linger for two to three nights. Myrtle Beach was used as an example.

Toward the end of the 1970s, however, a few of us became concerned with the growing number of tourists, particularly on summer weekends, without sufficient infrastructure to deal with the related traffic. We believed steps were needed to understand what the probable future could be and what to do about it.

Experience in visiting other communities without adequate controls — mine included an attempt to visit Provincetown, a historic village at the end of Cape Cod, where we arrived, drove around slowly for an hour looking for parking and had to leave as none was available — suggested what was likely ahead for our Old Town community.

Three remedies were cited, reflecting what appeared to be workable solutions elsewhere. For possibly up to 100 days a year:

• Peripheral parking would be available. Fort George and town-owned lands now occupied by the community centre would be allocated, with a jitney service available to transport tourists into town.

• From, say, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., four blocks of Queen Street would become a walking mall, with precedents elsewhere suggesting merchant sales would increase.

• Bus traffic would be routed away from downtown, relying on the adjacent parking and, for those who wished, the jitney service. This rerouting, in fact, happened.

Here we are, 45 years later, when tourism appears to be the major strategy, new hotel and other rooms are approved without due consideration of the consequences, including adequate infrastructure, which, without other controls, will almost certainly fall short.

So, a question looms large: Has anyone in authority or influence really thought this through? That includes knowledge of citizen revolts about overtourism nearby and throughout the world. I’d easily run out of fingers and toes counting those up.

Tourism represents an opportunity, but can also become a curse. As elections draw near, let’s determine which way we are leaning and take the appropriate actions.

Terry Mactaggart
NOTL