Cold Lake, AB – At the City of Cold Lake last Corporate Priorities Meeting, held Sept. 17, council signalled that it would not be looking at making big changes for vendors and food trucks at Kinosoo Beach.

“The Corporate Priorities Committee felt that most of the changes we would like to see are too costly at this time,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “We’ve spent a significant amount of money creating a beautiful community beach. It’s well used, and we have received rave reviews from the public about the amenities there. We will not be making any major changes to the beach at this time.”

The issue was brought to a previous meeting after the City received complaints of a lack of parking at the beach that can, at times, be taken up by mobile vendors. Other complaints have been raised over the sound of generators, odours created by food service, and the general aesthetics of having commercial trailers parked in front of the beach and houses for much of the day.

At that meeting, held Aug. 13, council delayed any decision so that there would be no interruptions towards the end of vendors’ summer season.

The committee was presented with several options to better accommodate food trucks and other vendors, including creating a turn-around, widening the vendors’ promenade, dedicating parking spots along 1 Avenue for vendors and creating a parking lot with dedicated vendor space at the north most end of 1 Avenue.

“Ultimately, there was no appetite for large, expensive changes that would change the nature of the amenities as they are,” Copeland said. “If anything, we want to see some small accommodations that may make life easier for mobile vendors but ultimately this is a public space and users need to share it as it is and within the established rules.”

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