Welcome to Little Current—now please leave
To the Expositor:
My friends and I (mostly retired teachers) had a celebratory lunch on the first day of school at the Anchor Inn. We whiled away just over two hours enjoying each other’s company and then proceeded next door to Dreamer’s Cove where we spent another 20 minutes. Some of us carried on to do other shopping and some of us headed for our cars in the pouring rain. Imagine our surprise to be greeted with parking tickets! We were all parked in different areas, I myself was parked in front of Turners. I did not see any sign, probably because I wasn’t looking for one. One friend realized the sign was above her parking area only when she saw the ticket. None of us were prepared for the fact that we were only allowed to spend two hours on Water Street as we had never had an issue before. We didn’t realize that we can’t “have our lunch and shop, too” unless we do it within a specific time limit. I didn’t know I would have to choose whether to have lunch quickly and perhaps slip into the Island Jar and leave, or would I not have lunch and do Turners and the General Store before leaving to eat lunch somewhere else.
Besides being amazed that any town would discourage people from spending time and money locally and in the main business area, I was equally puzzled as to why shopping by locals would be discouraged when all the summer/seasonal shoppers have left for the season. Were they ticketed so zealously as well and if so, how did they react? Since this is now the “off’ season, are you inundated with shoppers waiting for those parking areas? I’m still hard put to find a reason for this situation, except that the town has made $16 from me today (not to mention my other three friends). Unfortunately, some of the businesses probably lost considerably more by kicking me off the street.
Maybe, since the town or businesses don’t seem to want me parked there, or spending more than two hours shopping or eating, I should just take that $16 that I would have paid in a ticket and head to Gore Bay or Mindemoya or even Espanola where they will welcome me for long lunches with my friends and unlimited parking hours.
Janet Carscallen, South Baymouth
Kristin Desjardins, Mindemoya
Marne McKnight, Manitowaning
Ann O’Shell, Manitowaning
