YOU ASKED: WHAT HAPPENED TO ACCESSIBLE SPACES AT SPRUCE STREET LOT?

WASAGA BEACH COUPLE WANT TO SEE RETURN OF ACCESSIBLE PARKING SPOTS AT BEACHFRONT

Alan and Marian Ritchie asked: Why are two of the three accessible parking spaces facing the water at the town's Spruce Street lot closed off ?

The answer: Last fall, the town blocked off two of the three accessible spaces in order to create an ad hoc cul-de-sac at the top of Spruce Street.

There are two other designated accessible spaces, but they are at the end of one of the parking aisles and do not face the water.

According to the Town of Wasaga Beach's communications officer, Michael Gennings, those two spots should be open in the coming days.

"Three of the five accessible spots are available. Two of them were blocked off for winter maintenance, but over the next week or so they will be line painting and cleaning the parking lots to get those spots back," Gennings wrote in an email to Simcoe.com.

That's good news, said Marian.

Three to four times a week, the Wasaga Beach couple drive to the parking lot off Spruce Street in order to look out over the water while they enjoy their coffee.

Because Marian uses a cane for mobility, they would park in one of three accessible parking spaces that face the beachfront.

Landing what is currently the lone accessible spot facing the water is a combination of luck and timing. And all the spaces facing the water, the couple note, are particularly popular.

Marian said she was looking forward to seeing the spots reopened.

"For us, it's like an oasis," Marian said. "And during COVID, this was our sanity.

"By the time we get home, having been here, we feel like we've had a little holiday."

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