Fort Erie is getting ready for another summer by updating rules for popular Bay Beach.
Town Council has approved a report from staff proposing updates to beach operations, including the ability to purchase day passes online, in advance.
Officials say the new feature will help non-residents and those without season passes better plan their trips by booking their spots prior to the beach reaching patron capacity in 2022.
The new formula used to calculate patron capacity will not limit resident and commercial pass holders from accessing the beach during the hours of operations.
The Town also plans to update its current paid parking system to include the option of online paid parking.
To assist with supporting this new technology, the Town has invested about $2500 to improve WiFi connections at Bay Beach.
You can still pay at a physical machine by coin and credit credit card.
Officials have also updated day pass fees to $5 (Monday to Thursday) and $10 (Friday to Sunday - including holidays).
To help keep costs low for families, children 12 years of age and under are free, which is an increase from last year (10 years and under).
The change includes the Fort Erie resident season pass fees as well.
“Keeping Bay Beach open and accessible is our main commitment. By ushering in new operation updates such as raising the patron capacity limit and the new admissions and parking system, we make Bay Beach much more accessible for everyone. Town Council has raised the free access age limit to 12 to make access easier for families looking to visit the beach. Bay Beach is something that everyone should be able to enjoy and we are committed to keeping it that way,” said Mayor Wayne Redekop.
Fort Erie Bay Beach resident and commercial season passes as well as the day season passes will be available for purchase in May.