The Municipality of Lambton Shores is ready for what's expected to be another busy summer in Grand Bend.
Thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the Lake Huron resort community to celebrate the unofficial start to summer this Victoria Day holiday weekend.
Mayor Doug Cook tells Sarnia News Today they're prepared for an influx of seasonal visitors.
"We've been hiring our seasonal staff and we're getting ready for another busy, busy, summer in Grand Bend," said Cook. "We have about 55 seasonal employees that we hire, and they work across the spectrum of our operations. [Doing] yard work, gardening, [working at the] marinas and the beach, bylaw [staff]. There's a lot of different places where the folks fit in to."
Cook said they haven't had any issues filling the positions.
"We're very lucky. We have a lot of new, and returning students that come back every year and they're very keen to want to work with us," he said. "We do an orientation with everybody so they get to know what is all across Lambton Shores and then they work with our senior staff and get situated. Everyone works with a team leader when they're going out on site, so they're not working independently on their own."
Cook has a feeling there will be more visitors from Ontario and the United States this year.
"I'm hoping now with the [emphasis on] staycations, and shop Ontario, and promote tourism in Ontario... that we actually have a significant summer again," said Cook. "We've been busy the last few summers and I don't anticipate us being any quieter than that. It should be a good summer for us."
He expects the favourable U.S. dollar will result in an increase in American tourists.
Cook reminds visitors paid parking rules are back in effect and said they're still working out some kinks with the four-season self-cleaning washroom installed at the Grand Bend beach in 2024.
"The challenge that we faced last year with it, is that the sand is a big hinderance. The way that the machine operates... it has to flush when you close the door. Being nice, polite Canadians, we like to hold the door open for the next person in line... so that tends to be a bit of a challenge. So, we have to re-educate people on how to make sure the bathroom operates properly," said Cook.
Mayor Cook was excited to share that the Ontario Street Bridge in Grand Bend should be open by the weekend.
"They'll have all four lanes ready to go, that's according to our contractor," he said. So, they're in the process of having everything open up again for the summer. Originally, we had planned on not having it open until mid-June. But they worked ahead of schedule. Actually, over the winter they had favourable conditions, so we're able to have it open for this long weekend."
The bridge deck is being converted from four lanes to five lanes, with a dedicated right turn lane at the main intersection to ease traffic congestion.
The $7.63 million project is to be done in two phases, with the second phase expected to begin in September.