The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

5 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 20,2020 insidehalton.com Care that's extra careful V for Vistamere We're very proud of our family of Vistamere staffers during these difficult times. They go above and beyond each and every day to help ensure the safety of our residents. So our residents just want to say, "Thank You." Vistamere Retirement Residence is located in a quiet, residential neighbourhood in west Oakville. You can still come for a virtual tour. Just go to vistamere.ca TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR TODAY vistamere.ca 380 Sherin Drive Oakville, Ontario L6L 4J3 905.847.1413 vistamere.ca Like us onFollow us on 49% of Canadians give themselvesa grade of C or lower on howthey view their personalfinancial skills. Does that include you? Let'sTalk. 220 Randall Street Downtown Oakville 905-842-2100 peterwatsoninvestments.com PeterWatson MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI JenniferWatson MBA, CIM® *Source: CPA Canada 2018 Canadian Visit our website to sign up for a free consultation. Peter Watson MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI Jennifer Watson MBA, CFP®, CIM® 220 Randall Street, Downtown Oakville 905-842-2100 www.watsoninvestments.com Thinking of retiring someday? Let's Talk. Visit our website to sign up for a free consultation. *Sour CIBC poll, February 2018 of Canadians don't have a retirement plan to achieve what they want in retirement.*90%Schedule a virtual meetingto review your wealthmanagement strategy. 905-842-2100 ext. 103 jennifer@watsoninvestments.com Puzio. "I think this is ridicu- lous." The Holy Trinity Catho- lic Secondary School gradu- ate says other 'no fishing' signs have gone up at the Oakville pier on Sixteen Mile Creek, a favourite fish- ing point for many in the community. "I know guys who fish there who are 85 years old and they have been fishing there since they were 15," says Puzio. "I just don't understand this." Officials with the Town of Oakville, however, say this is nothing new. The town's director of parks and open space, Chris Mark, said for more than 25 years fishing has been pro- hibited in Oakville's har- bours and off the various waterfront parks between April and November. He noted during that pe- riod the waterfront is busy with boat and pedestrian traffic and as such fishing is prohibited for safety rea- sons. "I think people are seeing more of the signs this year because we have put up more. We are also probably enforcing this more this year because the volume of people using our parks and waterfront parks in particu- lar has gone up significantly this year since everyone is having a staycation," said Mark. "We just see a real safety issue with people fishing and pedestrians in such close proximity to each oth- er, being on the pier, being on the walkways that are ad- jacent to the lake." Mark said fishing has traditionally been permit- ted off the lake side of the West Bronte Pier, which is less popular with pedestri- ans. However, that pier has been closed for some time due to damage it received from ice and high-water lev- els last year. Repairs have since been carried out and Mark said that pier is expected to re- open for fishing in the com- ing weeks. Longtime Oakville fisher Andrew Howarth, 25, says this is the first he has heard about a bylaw prohibiting fishing from any pier in Oakville. "If there was a bylaw at any time prior to this year it wasn't enforced at all," he said. Howarth said he has seen 'no fishing' signs at the Bron- te Marina in the past, but says he gets that, noting the boat owners don't want the risk of their property being damaged. With the pier, however, Howarth questions who he and his friends are hurting, arguing the chances of a pe- destrian being injured by someone fishing are slim. "In Bronte, in the down- town there is a baseball park that is beside a road. It's much more likely, I think, that a baseball would go astray and hit someone or end up in someone's back- yard," he said. "But you don't shut down the baseball field because that might happen ... With- out any documented proof stating this is the problem, this is the solution, I don't think you should go around banning people from using a public space how they please, especially an activity that doesn't harm anybody." Horwath said he believes some of the pedestrians who walk along the pier see fish- ers as an eyesore and ques- tions whether that is what is behind the signs. If that is the case, Hor- wath calls it unfair, noting he and other local anglers regularly clean up the litter at the pier that others have left behind. Puzio pointed out that fishers have made use of the East Bronte Pier since its construction around 200 years ago. He also noted the pier is home to the Bronte Fisher- men's Memorial, which rec- ognizes the significance of fishing in the history of Bronte. The Oakville native said he worries about what will happen in the fall when he says crowds of hundreds of people typically gather at the piers to enjoy salmon season. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Town of Oak- ville has erected more 'no fishing' signs in harbour areas and at waterfront parks and appears to be stepping up enforcement of this rule. As such residents should be aware that places they fished previously may now be off limits. NEWS Continued from page 1 FISHING AT PIERS A SAFETY ISSUE: TOWN DIRECTOR "I don't think you should go around banning people from using a public space how they please, especially an activity that doesn't harm anybody." - Andrew Howarth