Prolonged flooding conditions on Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte have forced the City of Belleville to relocate a new summer tourism and business initiative.
The businesses involved in “Pop Ups on the Bay” will have to move to the West Riverside Park, along the Moira River, since only local traffic is being allowed in Victoria Harbour.
Development and Tourism Assistant Elisha Purchase says while it wasn’t the first choice of location, it is the next best option for the pop-up businesses to be successful.
Three of the four vendors will be moving including Doug’s Bicycle, Golden Scoops Ice Cream and Brick Oven Pizza, while Cruisin’ Canoes isn’t able to operate in that area.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk says when meeting with the vendors involved they were all on board with the move and keeping the program going.
The mayor added that Lake Ontario water levels are already 75.7 centimetres higher than the average for this time of year and there’s no firm timeline on when those levels will recede.
Early predictions show water levels will peak at, or go higher than what was seen in the city in the spring of 2017.
You can click here to read more about how the City of Belleville has been handling rising water levels to date.
