Mandatory shuttle service will take people to Spencer Gorge this year

Spencer Gorge and Webster Falls are so popular, the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) will run a shuttle bus to them this year.

People come and go and there's nowhere to go to the bathroom, and they are literally going on residents' properties.- Michelle Stuck

But a group of local residents tired of people defecating on their lawns and using their patio furniture say a shuttle is the last thing they need.

The HCA will close the parking areas for Webster and Tews falls from May 6 to Oct. 29. Instead, visitors will have to park at Mizener's Antiques and Flea five kilometres away. They'll pay $10 per car to park and $5 per person to visit, and each person will get a wristband.The shuttle will operate on weekends and holiday Mondays.On weekdays, parking lots will be open.

The conceptworries Michelle Stuck, who lives on Short Road near the conservation area. She worries people won't use the shuttle and will park on nearby roads anyway.

• Waterfall lovers are angering neighbours around Dundas and Flamborough

She also worries theprivate Greensville organization operating the shuttle will encourage people to visit, which is the last thing she needs.

"People come and go and there's nowhere to go to the bathroom, and they are literally going on residents' properties," said Stuck, a member of the group Preserve and Protect Websterand Tews Falls Greensville. Her group would rather see a daily cap on visitors.

It's one of these battles you can't win.- Coun. Robert Pasuta

"We've had garbage. We've had everything. They help themselves to people's outdoor kitchens."

RobertPasuta, Ward 14 councillor and HCA chair, is aware of the friction. But he hopes the shuttle service helps.

Right now, people "park everywhere," he said, and city bylaw enforcement officials can't keep up. "It's one of these battles you can't win."

The shuttle service started after a private local group, Think Greensville,approached the HCA board about operating a shuttle, said Lisa Burnside, CAO of the HCA. It didn't go to tender.

Burnside wouldn't elaborate on how revenue will be split between the HCA and Think Greensville. Butshe said Stuck's fear is the opposite of what the shuttle is meant to do.

We've got six millionpeople in theGTHA, and this area has been brought to their attention.- Lisa Burnside, HCA

"We're not looking to promote higher visitation," she said."What we're looking to promote is for visitors to take the shuttle when they come."

"We've got six millionpeople in the GTHA, and this area has been brought to their attention. The word is out there and people are coming and we're not even marketing it."

The service is designed to "address traffic and parking during high peak visitation," as well as "neighbourhood congestion and safety issues caused by cars parked along the roads," the HCA said in a media release Monday.

"By moving the parking to a larger area outside of the small neighbourhood surrounding the conservation area, visitors will easily be able to park and safely enter the conservation area."

Parking will be at 367 Highway 5 W. in Dundas. A shuttle bus will pick up visitors and stop at Greensville Optimist Park and Tews Falls. Visitors with a wristband can use it to get into any HCA conservation area that day. This doesn't include Confederation Beach Park.

More information can be found at webstersfalls.ca and conservationhamilton.ca.

City councillors also voted earlier this month to investigate how to alleviate the "negative impacts" the area's increasing popularity is having on residents.

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC