The city is closing the main route to the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area to crack down on illegal parking as hordes of visitors flock to take in its waterfalls and fall colours.

Harvest Road between Brock Road and Ofield Road in Greensville will be closed from this weekend from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 26 and 27 and police will be on-site to control traffic. Only a special waterfall shuttle and local motorists will be allowed through.

"We've got to keep changing and evolving with this spectacular weather and the social media-driven demand for people to get out in the great outdoors," Gord Costie of the Hamilton Conservation Authority said Friday.

The road closure comes after an influx in visitors resulting in traffic chaos and bumper-to-bumper parking scofflaws on recent weekends.

Greensville has been designated a "special enforcement area" for parking, which means fines of $250, the city notes.

City spokesperson Jasmine Graham said more than 130 tickets were issued in the area the Oct. 19 to 20 weekend.

Along with the beefed-up bylaw presence, the city has used additional signage and concrete blocks at the old town hall on Brock Road to prevent illegal parking, she said.

Costie said safety is biggest factor behind the road closure, which is a weekend pilot that conservation authority, police and city can review for possible future use.

The idea is to encourage more people to take a special shuttle that leaves Christie Lake Conservation Area approximately every 15 minutes beginning at 9:30 a.m., with the last returning shuttle at 6:30 p.m.

Costie said roughly 15,000 cars parked to take the shuttle in 2018 while this year is trending toward 16,000.

The cost is the entry fee to Christie Lake, which is $10 per car and $5 per person. Hamilton Conservation Authority pass-holders take it for free to a maximum of six passengers per vehicle.

Chaos in the neighbourhood surrounding Spencer Gorge has been a grievance for residents with the popularity of the falls soaring in recent years. Costie said the visitors are coming from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Last year, the park saw an estimated 115,000 visitors compared to roughly 95,000 in 2017 and 105,000 in 2016.

City-run parks have also seen an influx in visitors. Albion Falls on the east Mountain has been a draw for selfie-seekers and daredevils alike.

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