Amid the fury of residents and the patronizing responses from City Hall about the unlovely kayak rental concession on the eastern Beach, the question must be asked: “Why does the Beach need a kayak rental?” Or, for interested Leaside residents: “Why does Trace Manes Park need a kite rental trailer?” Relax. There is no such kite rental planned for the Millwood Rd. park nor for Davisville Park, or anywhere around South Bayview (so far as we know). But the question puts the justification of the kayak trailer rental into perspective. Mary-Margaret McMahon (Ward 32) says it’s so the Beach can be shared. “We’re very spoiled in the Beach. We view it as our backyard, but it’s for the GTA, for Ontario,” she told the CBC. She says businesses like the kayak rental help to “animate” the area, making it more attractive to visitors. So there you are. Our quiet otherwise non commercial places — beaches, parks and perhaps even ravines — need to be animated by tacky trailer businesses to make them attractive. They’re already open and available to everyone — just like the Beach — but not attractive enough. Drop a trailer in there. Maybe its the Beach air or just a City Hall state of mind but Councillor McMahon seems quite detached from her spoiled constituents.
