Municipal paid parking will be expanding in Sauble Beach this summer to include two privately-owned parking lots.
South Bruce Peninsula council has agreed to lease a vacant lot on the southeast corner of Main Street and Southampton Parkway, as well as the parking lot of the Holy Family Church on Lakeshore Boulevard, which will allow its parking lot to be used for public paid parking from Sunday afternoon through Friday.
Mayor Janice Jackson said they went in search of additional parking after learning Saugeen First Nation would not be allowing parking on south Sauble Beach this summer out of concerns for safety and rising water levels.
"That's going to put some additional pressure on us in South Bruce Peninsula, so we've taken some offers, very generous offers, from some local landowners that have empty lots and they've offered to lease us their property for overflow parking," said Jackson.
Jackson said they have also instructed staff to negotiate a lease agreement for use of the parking lot of the vacant JK Department Store, which is partially owned by Deputy Mayor Jay Kirkland, who declared a conflict of interest and did not participate in the paid parking discussion.
Municipal staff will be posting instructions on how to pay for parking in the new parking lots, but Jackson said the bulk of the transactions will be completed electronically.
"People can pay in the exact same way they pay for anywhere else, they do it on their smartphones, or they can go find a [paid parking] machine if they'd rather use a credit card," said Jackson. "It's going to be pretty easy, we'll be able to set it up very quickly and will certainly help us out in a pinch."
Municipal parking costs $3 per hour or $15 daily at Sauble Beach, with a $25 fine for parking without paying.