Councillors took emergency officials’ advice to reject more motorcycles downtown on Friday the 13th

By David Judd

PARK more motorcycles on Main Street for Friday the 13th? Not a good idea.

Police, firefighters and paramedics put their collective foot down at county council last week.

They rejected allowing more motorcycles to park on Main Street downtown at June’s Friday the 13th event.

County councillors unanimously took emergency officials’ advice and abandoned notions of reviving the old-time Friday the 13th events when bikers, motorcycles and crowds of spectators jammed the downtown from sidewalk to sidewalk.

June’s event is the only Friday the 13th this year.

If the weather is good, it could easily draw 100,000 people to Port Dover.

But everyone’s safety and security will be the main priority.

That means as much as possible keeping moving motorcycles and people separated.

Parking and street closures in June will be similar to last September, with motorcycle parking in the new municipal parking lot at the site of the former Norfolk Tavern.

June will have one major change.

Three downtown streets will be closed to traffic, except for motorcycles, emergency vehicles and municipal vehicles:

• St. George Street from Dover Avenue to Walker Street;
• Walker Street from its west end to St. Andrew Street;
• and St. Andrew Street from Clifford Street to Clinton Street.

Motorcycles will park on both sides of all three streets.

Closing the streets means cars can’t loop around the downtown to see what’s going on, Fire Chief Gord Stilwell said.

County staff will continue to review motorcycle parking on Main Street between Nelson and Chapman streets.

Mayor Amy Martin and Port Dover Coun. Adam Veri last month had hoped to make Friday the 13th more like old times when motorcycles drove and parked on Main Street and vendors were more on the periphery.

But times have changed and safety is the priority.

OPP Insp. Andrew Tait underlined it in a presentation to council.

It’s all about mitigating risk, Insp. Tait said.

June 13 will be warm and close to 200,000 people could be in a highly congested area in Port Dover.

Weaponizing vehicles is a big concern, Insp. Tait said.

There were 58 incidents of weaponized vehicles around the world in the 2010s and 39 incidents so far in the 2020s.

Insp. Tait cited fatal incidents in Toronto and London, Ont.

And on Sept. 14, 2024, at the intersection of Highway 6 and Blue Line Road, an emotionally disturbed person rammed and killed one person and assaulted a farmer with a knife.

That disturbed person had attended Friday the 13th.

Insp. Tait saw potential tragedy in decade-old photos of crowds in downtown Port Dover.

What if an impaired or disturbed driver drove into the crowd?

Or there was a malfunction or driver error?

Motorcycle parking on a small section of Main Street last September delayed paramedics getting to a medical emergency.

The response should have taken two minutes. Instead, it took 26 minutes.

One problem was motorcycles driving two wide and not yielding to paramedics.

Coun. Veri asked how the OPP would respond if Norfolk County allowed motorcycle parking on Main Street.

The county has accepted responsibility for Friday the 13th, Insp. Tait said.

You always have to think of tragedy happening and show you have prepared as much as you possibly can, he said.

Ultimately, under the Highway Traffic Act, the OPP can close a road if it’s unsafe.

In other words, Coun. Veri said, council can’t order the OPP to abide an unsafe situation.

Waterford Coun. Kim Huffman added: “Not everything from the old days can be replicated.”

Coun. Veri has been involved in Friday the 13th off and on since 2008.

The message wasn’t clear until now that the OPP has the final call, he said in an interview.

“It’s over,” Coun. Veri said.

“Some thought council had the ability of putting bikes on Main Street.

“The OPP could close the entire event.

“There’s nothing council can do at this point.”

Coun. Veri said he’s disappointed but he understands that Friday the 13th has grown with huge, less manageable crowds.

Friday the 13th is cramming more people in and it has to change, he said.

Other councillors agreed.

Simcoe Coun. Alan Duthie grew up in Port Dover and leaned toward restoring motorcycles to Main Street.

After listening to Insp. Tait, Coun. Duthie said he sees things through a different lens.

If something happened, Friday the 13th might not occur again, Langton Coun. Linda Vandendriessche said.

Norfolk can’t take the risk that someone is injured or emergency services can’t get through, she said.

In a report to council, the OPP said “maintaining and ensuring the safety of the public, police and our emergency service partners is our primary priority.

“As such, in good conscience, Ontario Provincial Police can only support the status quo [no additional motorcycle parking on Main Street.]”

Fifty firefighters will be on standby June 13.

Paramedics staffing will increase by 14.

“The current restriction of motorcycles on Main Street alleviates bike traffic and civilian congestion in the core area where extensive crowds are often seen and expected,” emergency officials wrote in a report to council last Wednesday.

“These restrictions encourage crowds to be dispersed over a greater area, aiding in the ability of an ambulance to navigate the dense crowd more easily.”

Originally published April 30, 2025