Part of a popular Ontario beach could soon be separated into a series of fenced in areas with a set capacity as part of an effort to reduce crowding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the Town of Wasaga Beach closed off the sand-covered portion of Beach Drive that it controls in the wake of significant crowding on Canada Day that the town’s deputy fire chief said represented “human behaviour at its worse.”

Tomorrow, town council will meet to consider the reopening of the beachfront but with significant restrictions.

Staff are recommending that the beachfront be divided into four “pods” using construction fencing and rope and that beach ambassadors be posted at the entrance of each pod in order to regulate the number of people allowed inside at any time.

Staff say that anyone allowed into a pod would also get a hand stamp that they could use to gain re-admittance to the area.

“Beach Ambassadors will count entrance and exit of visitors to ensure that the number of users has not exceeded the occupancy limit of the pod,” the staff report that will be considered by council states. “Once the occupancy limit is reached, no other admittance will be permitted until capacity is available.”

Large crowds have been reported at beaches across Southern Ontario in recent weeks, with many of them seemingly ignoring physical distancing guidelines.

While Premier Doug Ford has pleaded with residents to exercise common sense and has said that he would not go to a crowded beach himself right now, he has largely ruled out closing or limiting the capacity at provincial beaches.

That, in turn, left the Town of Wasaga Beach to come up with a plan to control the crowding at the portion of the beachfront that it controls.

They initially closed the sand-covered portion of Beach Drive entirely and limited beachfront parking spots by 50 per cent but now seem willing to consider a hybrid plan, which staff say is being proposed as a way to ensure that a space of two metres can be maintained between families.

“These pods allow the town to control access to specific areas of the sand covered Beach Drive and to control physical distancing within the pods,” their report notes.

Much of the beachfront is located within Wasaga Beach Provincial Park and remains unaffected by the town’s decision.