On a recent visit to Prince Edward County I was trying to find out why it felt so different. Growing up near Millhaven in the 1980s our family would often spend many summer and fall days enjoying the wonders of the County, where my parents now reside.

That brings me to the magical place called Little Bluff, a scenic cliffscape where I used to swim on the stone beach. I found there was a monolithic PARKING METER in the middle of the field.

Why is it that a County that is a giant island surrounded by water, there is nowhere to go to enjoy a waterfront picnic without having to pay a ridiculous fee? Where are the accessible lakeside parks? For those who just want to have a picnic lunch at a park to enjoy the waterfront scenery, there are few to no options. I have trouble understanding how a place that has had such an influx of tourism dollars, with new residents and new home builds contributing to a massive tax income for the County, that it provides so little in return. The roads are terrible, the traffic is insane and the natural beauty now requires a credit card charge with the only benefit being some possible Aeroplan points.

As someone who once enjoyed coming to the County I can now say I no longer feel this way and will instead visit other places where the driving is not a sequel to Mad Max and I don’t have to pay an admission charge to enjoy what what our National Anthem says should be a place that is “strong and free”, neither of which the County seems to be. It has turned into a circus, with the ringmasters yelling “TICKETS PLEASE!”

  Andrew King
  Manotick, On