Organizers behind Friday the 13th are not satisfied with the new plans for the big Port Dover event this year.
Mayor Amy Martin brought a motion to council for staff to investigate bringing bikes back to Main Street, where they parked for decades, after being moved to side streets a few years prior out of safety concerns.
After much debate, and warnings from emergency personnel in attendance, only a small portion of Main Street will be allowed to have motorcycle parking from Nelson to Chapman.
They will also allow parking in the parking lot where the Norfolk Tavern once say.
Amie Ferris, speaking on behalf of the Friday the 13th group, recognizes this is a step in the right direction – but not close to what they or bikers truly want.
Since the move, Ferris has seen first hand the attendance drop, and people telling her they would not be returning unless the bikes come back to Main Street.
One of the biggest safety concerns is, should an incident occur on Main Street, if there were bikes everywhere it would be hard to emergency crews to respond to a situation in a timely manner.
But Ferris doesn’t believe that moving bikes to side streets is fixing that problem.
On top of that, the decision to keep Port Dover “open” with all these bikes on side street – she believes it’s a receipe for disaster.
Continuing, she has also heard from local business owners with concerns about the set up that sees Vendors on Main Street now – most of them with large tents set up blocking the businesses.
Vendors Ferris has spoken with as well say they would like to return to Powell Park.
This put all the vendors in one designated area, which saw more customers.
Staff is being directed to report back regarding motorcycle parking at Friday 13th following the September event.
Written by Matt LeBlanc