GuelphToday received the following letter from Sharon Bettencourt regarding public access to Puslinch Lake being closed permanently:
As a resident of Puslinch my husband and I were both shocked, and upset to read that the public access to Puslinch Lake would be closed permanently.
How ironic that there is a sign posted at the intersection of Townline Road and Lake Road advertising that Puslinch Lake is opened year round but then it is now closed to the public.
I am disappointed that there was not more of an uproar from the taxpaying residents who taxes are helping to fund the grant that contributes to the dredging of the lake will not have future access to the lake.
This lake is historical and has been apart of this township from the beginning. It is beautiful and should be enjoyed by all residents of this community not just those who homes surround it. The Township should have retained some kind of stewardship over the lake and not allow it to be controlled by what seems to be only private ownership.
My family and I have been coming to this lake on and off now for over 16 years now since our children were young to enjoy either just sitting by the lake, swimming in it or dining at the Old Marina Restaurant and this year my husband went out and bought a canoe with the hopes of canoeing on the lake only to read that there is no longer public access.
I have to admit that for my family along with friends and old neighbours from the surrounding communities close to the lake who have dined multiple times at the restaurant. It will be a turn off to want to dine there again if we wont be able to have access to the beach as it was part of the charm of being there.
Littering and vandalism is absolutely not ok and I sympathize with the concerns of the restaurant owners and the trailer park residents that there might be an influx of traffic from boaters on the lake to people who are there whether to get away from the city because of Covid or those who come solely because of Justin Bieber being a new resident to the area now since August 2018.
I agree with Mayor Seeley that there should have been more done to educate the public and even to restrict it to Puslinch residents only, especially if taxpayers money is being used toward the upkeep of the lake. It almost seems suspicious that the McClintocks would take such drastic actions siting that after being threatened (in addition to increase in traffic from outsiders and the littering) it solidify their decision to close public access to the beach.
Covid-19 started in the beginning of the year and they waited until July to close it. This lake has always been popular all year round by the people who uses it in the winter to ice fish, and from late spring to fall to canoe, boat or to swim in.
Here is a thought, why not at least consider putting more garbage bins and add do not litter/ private property signs in the immediate vicinity first and post very large and visible signs at the entrance coming off Lake Road and by the entrance to the beach, restricting the amount of motor boats on the lake and perhaps come up with a system that will limit the amount of people that can have access to the public entrance to the lake daily (as an example between 10 to 20 families per day).
In addition to this have joint meetings with the trailer park residents, Puslinch residents and the city to come up with some kind of compromise and/or solutions before making such a permanent decision.
The last I have read on this issue was an article written by Keegan Kozolanka dated Oct. 9 2020 from GuelphToday.com. Titled “ Township working toward creating public access to Puslinch Lake”. Glenn Schwendinger Puslinch CAO said by email that the township is possibly considering using some unused land in the area to create public access. This is presumably at the end of Travelled Road.
While this is a step in the right direction and sounds promising I am hoping that by printing this letter, more residents will reach out to their councillors and the mayor and that the media will continue to do take an interest in it by doing follow up articles that will highlight and make visible this story until a viable and permanent solution is reached so that next year the taxpaying residents of this community will once again be allowed to enjoy what nature has provided and just to the select few.
Regards,
Sharon Bettencourt
Ellis Rd, Puslinch Ont
