Price for outsiders doubles to $10 for weekends at Fort Erie’s Bay Beach

While Fort Erie residents are still exempt from capacity issues at the town’s Bay Beach, occasional users and those from out-of-town just saw a bump in the weekend/holiday pricing after the last council meeting.

Day and season passes will be available online to residents in May while out-of-timers are restricted to daily passes only.

While day passes cost $5 all week long last year, this year that rate only applies to Monday to Thursday while Friday to Sunday plus holiday passes will jump to $10 this season.

Council also said the new formula used to calculate patron capacity – up to 2,500 this year as opposed to 2,000 last year – will not limit resident and commercial pass holders from accessing the beach during the hours of operations.

“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, ” said Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop.

“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,” Redekop added.

At the urging of Ward 6 Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes, the age limit for children allowed in free bumped from the previous 10-and-under up to 12-and-under for 2022.

The Town has also invested $2,500 to offer the option of online/mobile paid parking in an effort to improve
WiFi connections at Bay Beach.