KELOWNA–With scorching hot weather on the way, more and more people are heading to the beach.
But residents of a neighborhood near downtown Kelowna say families have essentially been “pushed off” a nearby public beach and replaced by an entirely different crowd.
“I enjoy going down to the beach. I like bringing my four year old daughter down there,” says Dayna Margetts, who lives near Lake Avenue Access Beach.
Get daily National news
“But it got to the point I just didn’t feel comfortable bringing her down there.”
She’s one of many claiming that drug use, drinking, swearing, fighting and nudity happens daily at the beach, known as “Mushroom Beach” to some. Neighbours say people stay late into the night before spilling onto the streets, leaving garbage in their wake and using private yards as toilets. They say the police are called several times a day, to no avail.
“Many times it takes them several hours,” says the chair of the Neighbourhood Watch for the area, Julie Cancelea. “The situation has either escalated to an emergency call, or they have moved on until the next day.”
Beach goers Global News spoke to called it a “travelers” beach, and suggested nearby residents use family friendly beaches like City Park or Gyro.
“If it’s not here, then where is it going to be? Everywhere else,” says one beach regular. “Who will be offended? Everyone else, every place else.”
Comments