'The beach is full': Grand Bend cracking down on beach rules

London, Ont. -

Grand Bend Beach is seeing larger numbers of crowds than ever before, which is why the Municipality of Lambton Shores is cracking down on beach rules.

"People have been home with COVID and everybody wants to get out and it’s summertime so we have the beach, and the beach is full," said Bill Weber, mayor of the Municipality of Lambton Shores.

The municipality has bylaw officers patrolling the beach and has put up more signage up to make sure people are following the rules.

Some of the beach rules include:

• all tents and canopies are prohibited
• umbrellas larger than eight feet are prohibited
• zero tolerance policy for organized sports and sport activities

Which has some people upset.

"It’s very inconvenient for us, especially when you have a little kid and you want them to take a nap or anything, you can’t really do much," said Carolina Arias, the mother of a young toddler, looking for some relaxation time at Grand Bend's beach.

Weber says these rules aren’t new, but they are only recently upsetting people because of the stricter enforcement.

"There’s been social media buzzes on the rules. The rules are there to keep people safe and so people can have a good time at the beach," said Weber.

One of the reasons for a zero tent policy he cites is because it reduces visibility on the beach, which creates panic when children get lost.

Grand Bend beach - Sunday, July 18, 2021 (Jaden Lee-Lincoln / CTV News)

And throwing a ball around on the beach is prohibited because of the safety concerns behind it.

"If you’re sitting with your family and someone throws a football and it doesn’t go where they wanted it to and it hits somebody, we don’t want that," said Weber.

Weber adds these rules are likely to remain in place even after the pandemic is over, so long as the beach continues to be busy.