The Coastal Stewardship Coordinator for the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says it wasn't that long ago that it was quite common to see vehicles parked side by side on the beach as close to water as they could get.
Hannah Cann says that's no longer the case on most Huron County beaches, but it can still be seen on some beaches up and down the shoreline.
Cann says one of the most serious problems created by vehicles on the beach is compaction of the sand.
"It compacts the sand, it provides more potential for erosion and it can also create ruts which will fill with water and provide a small breeding ground or small pools of water for e-Coli and other potential nasty business to form and then infiltrate onto the beach," says Cann.
Cann says there's also the potential for oil or any other chemicals to leaks from vehicles into the water.
Along the Huron County shoreline, most of the public beaches have infrastructure created and parking areas that are off the beach so there's a nice beach area where people can lay their towels out and enjoy a vegetated buffer.
But Cann says in some places, business or other infrastructure around the beach limit room for parking, and that can be a problem in very heavy tourist areas, so people still park on the beach.
Photo of beach parking from the 1930's (photo courtesy of Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation)
