STEPHEN RICCIO
MANSFIELD ET PONTEFRACT June 2, 2021
Pont Blanc Beach in Mansfield et Pontefract is within weeks of opening for its second summer after a successful opening season last year, with beach organizer Guillaume Lavoie-Harvey tentatively targeting around . . .
June 22 for the opening date.
Lavoie-Harvey said that he and others from the non-profit organization behind the beach’s inception, Coopérative Aventure Hélianthe, have already organized the beach space with regard to benches and picnic tables. He reckons that many people see the beach while driving through and are already prepared to don their swim trunks and go for a dip.
“With the hot weather there’s just so many people that are rolling up at the beach to cool themselves down a bit,” he said.
The beach will have several upgrades from last summer, including two docks that are going to be positioned so as to provide a buffer between the swimming area and passing boat traffic.
“We’re also working on a second phase that we’re developing and it’s not necessarily officially announced because it’s in partnership with a grant that we got,” Lavoie-Harvey said. “So we can’t talk too too much about that yet, but the project’s brewing on [the] other lots that we have.”
With the docks expected to be installed on June 21 and the second phase announcement expected soon, Lavoie-Harvey said that they’ll also have the volleyball nets and bleachers set up by June 22, as well as having a lifeguard on deck by then.
The beach had a lifeguard on duty in the afternoons during last summer’s weekends, which he said they wanted to have to make families feel more safe about letting their kids swim and relax. In general though, Lavoie-Harvey said that any visitors to the beach should know that they are ultimately swimming at their own risk.
Despite the risk, he said it was important for the cooperative to keep the beach open as a public park area.
“We don’t put a big orange gate to say like ‘Everybody keep out if there’s nobody on the site,’” he said. “People can always enjoy the park whenever they wish.”
Another upgrade to the beach, which is part of the upcoming announcement, will be doing away with the porta potties of last summer and establishing a more “intricate” bathroom setup.
He said that the cooperative’s intention is to make the beach a recreational hub in the community, which will involve some sort of rental service on-site.
“We’re hoping by July to start the rentals. And basically the idea is, we’re going to get a little rental kiosk set up and a shuttle,” Lavoie-Harvey explained.
As well as offering numerous paddling rental options, setting up bike rentals and a shuttle would allow for people to experience the beauty of the surrounding area without having to engage in some of the more intense adventure opportunities that the Pontiac has.
“Often [outdoor recreation is] not really accessible for the beginners so we want to you now have a local community program for beginners to get back into it, you know like younger kids,” Lavoie-Harvey said.
As part of the province’s reopening plan, the government has targeted the allowance of outdoor public activities and events beginning on June 25.
