B.C. outdoor communities feel pressure of sunny weather crowds amid COVID spike

MISSION (NEWS 1130) – As nicer weather draws more people outside, many local outdoor destinations are starting to feel the pressure of sunny weather crowds.

British Columbians are being asked to stay close to home and limit movements amid a continued rise in COVID-19 cases, but some people are still travelling outside their neighbourhoods, adding to busy trailheads and beaches around the Lower Mainland.

The District of Mission’s manager of tourism and communication, Clare Seeley, says spots like the Hunter Road Lookout are extremely busy.

“We are aware that people are going outside and as the weather improves we’re going to see a continuation of last summer’s issues, and we had this at a number of locations throughout last summer with the COVID issues. Whilst we want to encourage people to go out and have that physical and mental health break — which the great outdoors does offer us — we are asking that people are looking at safety first,” she told NEWS 1130. “If an area is cramped, not only is that now causing issues for the local residents that live there, but it potentially is causing them a health hazard too.”

Popular local outdoor spots are again seeing increasing pressure from crowds, some from out-of-community, as the weather warms. This is near the Hunter Rd Lookout in Mission. The District is bringing in parking restrictions to try to limit crowds – for residents and COVID safety pic.twitter.com/a0uDQ9TvcF

— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) April 14, 2021

Mission is looking at putting in strict parking regulations to deal with overcrowding, particularly in the Hunter Road area.

“Because it’s a designated forestry area rather than a trail to hike, what we’re going to have to do there is look at the parking of the whole area and possibly enforcing no-parking signs where it’s impacting the local residents that live there,” she explained.

Images from recent weeks from the Hunter Road area show cars packed along the side of the road, leaving only the space for one vehicle to pass through.

Seeley notes many people are parking in spaces they shouldn’t be.

“There’s parking there that’s not actually a designated parking area but there’s an area there where forestry vehicles turn around that primarily gets used for parking when forestry vehicles aren’t there, and I think that allows for approximately 10 vehicles,” she said, asking people that if they see the area is full, they maybe save the trail for another day.

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Seeley says it’s about balance — between people having access to these outdoor spaces, and looking after people’s safety.

Trailheads in places like North Vancouver are much the same, packed with people trying to get in some outdoor time. Often it’s crowded with people ignoring requests from the provincial health officer and travelling from neighbouring communities.

The District of North Vancouver has in the past enforced parking bans to try to prevent overcrowding.

Unlike with provincial parks, Mission doesn’t have the opportunity to bring in a booking-type system.

Meanwhile, B.C.’s premier has warned that tighter restrictions are not off the table. He and his cabinet are meeting Wednesday and will likely discuss the feasibility of a local travel ban.

-With files from Amanda Wawryk