By John Francis
As I look across Tobermory harbour from my desk, the MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry is sitting at her berth. She’s done for the year — her 50th year of service is complete; tomorrow morning she will head off to Owen Sound for the winter.
I’ll repeat that — WINTER.
When the Chi-Cheemaun first came to Tobermory, 50 years ago, it was a very different village. (Full disclosure: I’m basing this on research. I’ve only been here 45 years). In those days, there were very few people who worked year-round. (By my count, there were approximately 35 people working full-time, year-round when I arrived here in 1979.) The ferry was the largest employer in town and it laid off nearly all its employees every October.
Half a century later, the ferry barely cracks the top five employers. But it still lays nearly everybody off in October.
Tobermory Warbler
The Tobermory Warbler was a tiny newspaper that served Tobermory for a few years in the 1970s. In its July, 1975 issue, the lead story began:
TRAFFIC PERILS TOBERMORY
The congested traffic and parking situation created in Tobermory by the new ferry has been identified by Reeve J.P. Johnstone at a St. Edmunds Township Council meeting. The situation which could be made worse by a possible second ferry boat led Mr. Johnstone to request three provincial ministries, whose projects produce heavy auto traffic on the Bruce Peninsula, to aid St. Edmunds Township in conducting a study to determine how the increased traffic resulting from these projects should be handled. The advertising campaigns being sponsored about the new ferry by MTC and the Ministry of Tourism is bringing to Tobermory a volume of traffic which the present dock and land area cannot handle.
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So not everything has changed in 50 years. Parking and traffic volume are still huge issues; it’s just not the ferry that’s causing them anymore. They’re being caused by things that were unimaginable in 1974. Facebook. Instagram. Tik Tok. Cell phones.
Even the idea of two big, glossy national parks would have seemed pretty weird in 1974. Bear in mind that back then, the nearest stoplight was Owen Sound.
And 50 years later, we still don’t have a stoplight at the Head Street intersection in Tobermory…
Parking — Mostly a Success
But, looking back on 2024’s tourist season — what went wrong, what went right?
The Paid Parking machines are a source of ongoing frustration for visitors and businesses alike. But the on-street parking regulations are mostly working rather well.
The problems at Moore Street in Lion’s Head have been solved. The municipality banned on-street parking and it’s safe to live there again. It’s safe — ish — to walk on Moore Street. The traffic to and from the Lion’s Head Lookout trail has been contained and organized.
The problems on Grant Watson Drive in Tobermory were almost as bad as at Moore Street. The same solution — NO PARKING — was implemented and it worked there, too.
Little Cove Road isn’t a problem anymore either. There’s a reserveable parking lot at the end of the road and that’s it.
The large NO PARKING area on Dorcas Bay Road solved most of the problems there.
Parks Canada’s initiative to require reservations for Grotto access parking at Head of Trails on Cyprus Lake Road has been successful. They’ve expanded it to Halfway Log Dump parking lot and it’s working there too.
Closer to (my) home, the decision to restrict parking in the blind-hill parts of Harpur Drive was a great success. It was no longer terrifying to walk up the street.
So: plaudits to MNBP and Parks Canada for putting policies in place that actually work.
And Then There’s Traffic
On the subject of traffic, not much has changed. A lot of people still make pointless circuits around Tobermory, looking for the perfect parking spot. They turn off the highway onto Bay Street, follow it around and make a right on Brock Street, then another right on Head Street and they’re back at the highway.
Rinse and repeat.
But there’s even hope on that front. If MNBP builds the proposed welcome centre and parking lot at the old Township Office site and then runs a shuttle to downtown…
We might actually end up with a village that’s pleasant to walk around in. Cross your fingers.
