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Hundreds of visitors turned away from Decew, Morningstar Mill over the long weekend

Visitors scaled fencing to get in
morningstar-mill
David Stephen / Thorold News

It was a busy long-weekend in Niagara as visitors jammed several hotspots.

In the area around Decew Falls, Thorold bylaw enforcement along with St Catharines city staff and private security guards turned away hundreds of people, many visitors from around the GTA.

Despite steel fencing and signage, some defied the closure of the falls and snuck past officers.

“Officers spent time patrolling the area and educating people who had come in and guided them to other places. Unfortunately, there are still some gaps. People can come in from anywhere,” said the city’s CAO Manoj Dilwaria to Thorold News.

He said the area showed on Google as being open over the weekend, despite closing to public access earlier this summer due to concerns over COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the page had been updated to reflect the closure.

 Dilwaria said the city is focused on educating visitors who do not respect the closure of the area.

“Our approach has been less heavy-handed, focused on education,” he added.