North Shore Trail Riding Etiquette and Behavior in a Global Pandemic

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

Posted by: FLATCH

Doesn’t matter where the city gets their money it’s the homeowners that are out of pocket

How much does North Van actually spend to maintain Fromme on an annual basis? I'm going to guess that no more than $10 of your annual property taxes goes to funding Fromme.

Also, do you never go to other areas outside of North Van and use their parking/park/etc? Using your logic I should probably go stand outside Stanley Park and give people a hard time who aren't Vancouver homeowners.

You don’t fucking get it do you, I am focussing on what comes out of the homeowners pocket not the fucking city.This is entirely about the homeowner, once again nothing to do with the fucking city. If you pay thousands of dollars every year on your property taxes wouldn’t you like to be able to park in front of your fucking house.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be generally entitled to park in front of your own house under normal circumstances, I’m referring to the special circumstances we are in right now. We’re in a global pandemic, the Fromme parking lot is closed, mountain biking is a safe and healthy activity to continue doing and you can effectively “social distance” while doing it. I don’t think homeowners being able to park in front of their houses should be the top priority at this current time (especially since 95% of them have a garage/driveway). The overall situation sucks for everyone and we all have to make some additional allowances vs. our normal pre-virus lives. It’s temporary and once the Fromme parking lot opens (I assume in the not too distant future) this “problem” will largely disappear.

And speaking of the Fromme lot opening - does anyone know if this is part of the "Phase 2" easing of restrictions that I think go into place tomorrow?

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be generally entitled to park in front of your own house under normal circumstances, I’m referring to the special circumstances we are in right now. We’re in a global pandemic, the Fromme parking lot is closed, mountain biking is a safe and healthy activity to continue doing and you can effectively “social distance” while doing it. I don’t think homeowners being able to park in front of their houses should be the top priority at this current time (especially since 95% of them have a garage/driveway). The overall situation sucks for everyone and we all have to make some additional allowances vs. our normal pre-virus lives. It’s temporary and once the Fromme parking lot opens (I assume in the not too distant future) this “problem” will largely disappear.

And speaking of the Fromme lot opening - does anyone know if this is part of the "Phase 2" easing of restrictions that I think go into place tomorrow?

Considering that neither of the local provincial parks (Cypress/Seymour) are slated to open soon, I wouldn't expect the fromme lot to open up any time soon either. Trails are generally much easier to manage distancing than a packed parking lot.

Parking is one thing, but it's the "No mountain bike drop-off" sign at Mountain Highway and Coleman that pisses me off. Residents up there getting annoyed about kids getting dropped off at the yellow gate is nimbyism at its finest. We are all inconvenienced by this pandemic.

Posted by: D_C_

Parking is one thing, but it's the "No mountain bike drop-off" sign at Mountain Highway and Coleman that pisses me off. Residents up there getting annoyed about kids getting dropped off at the yellow gate is nimbyism at its finest. We are all inconvenienced by this pandemic.

What's the logic on that one? Stopping your car for 30 seconds while someone exits a car and takes a bike off a rack... hurts who?

Posted by: D_C_

Parking is one thing, but it's the "No mountain bike drop-off" sign at Mountain Highway and Coleman that pisses me off. Residents up there getting annoyed about kids getting dropped off at the yellow gate is nimbyism at its finest. We are all inconvenienced by this pandemic.

Right before they stopped allowing dropoffs, I witnessed a line up of 15 cars trying to access the same dropoffs option. You can imagine how that works out on such a constricted residential stretch of road. It was the district controlling mayhem, not nimbyism. You can still drop off 4 blocks down the hill, really not a big inconvenience.

Posted by: mammal

Right before they stopped allowing dropoffs, I witnessed a line up of 15 cars trying to access the same dropoffs option.

And the one masked guy with sanitizer spray for the bar grips cause quite a line up too. 

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Too soon?

Hilarious actually.

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be generally entitled to park in front of your own house under normal circumstances, I’m referring to the special circumstances we are in right now. We’re in a global pandemic, the Fromme parking lot is closed, mountain biking is a safe and healthy activity to continue doing and you can effectively “social distance” while doing it. I don’t think homeowners being able to park in front of their houses should be the top priority at this current time (especially since 95% of them have a garage/driveway). The overall situation sucks for everyone and we all have to make some additional allowances vs. our normal pre-virus lives. It’s temporary and once the Fromme parking lot opens (I assume in the not too distant future) this “problem” will largely disappear.

And speaking of the Fromme lot opening - does anyone know if this is part of the "Phase 2" easing of restrictions that I think go into place tomorrow?

I’m starting to think you may be part of the problem. Absolutely no couth. Frankly using the pandemic to justify poor manners and a me me me attitude blows my mind. How entitled are we? Covid has cost some dearly and your miffed about not being able to park wherever the fuck you want.

dude, your the one that doesn't get it.  If it doesn't say you can't park there, have at it.  Residents have garages and driveways.  Boo hoo.

Remember too that not all residents are home owners. I rent in the Blueridge area. I don’t have access to a garage or driveway. I only have street parking. After getting home from work today street parking near my place was full, even with one side reserved for residents only. This happening occasionally is fine, but if it becomes a regular thing that I can’t park near where I live, I’ll be one of those requesting residents only parking to be extended.

The bottom line is that a lot more people are out mountain biking because if you are not working (and your kids are at home), it is a good way to get some fresh air and exercise. It is time for DNV and BC Parks to acknowledge this and work to increase capacity rather than limiting it. Now that we know that the chances of spreading the virus are dramatically less in an outdoor setting, we should be opening up capacity, not trying to throttle it.

I suspect DNV will be opening the Fromme Parking lot after the long weekend (though I haven't seen anything official). I have not seen anything about BC Parks completely opening up Seymour and Cypress which is concerning. If all parks and associated parking do not open after the long weekend when BC's "Phase II" response takes effect, I hope everyone will start ***politely*** writing emails and getting on social media to get our local outdoor parks, trails and parking lots open again so that people can spread out more.

Dr Bonnie Henry and the other local health officers never gave an order or recommendation that parks, parking lots and trails should be closed so that was actually a bit of regulatory overreach (albeit, done with the best of intentions). She has repeatedly encouraged people to get outside and said the risks of catching something outside are extremely low as long as everyone keeps moving, does not congregate and observes a reasonable physical distance whenever possible.

That said, I hope people will not go into full idiot mode this weekend and next week by gathering in groups, sharing food and drink, or shuttling with 10 of their best buddies crammed in a truck. And when normal parking does open up, it is up to all of us to avoid bunching up in the parking areas and at trail heads to avoid getting them closed again. Recreate but don't congregate.

One thing to keep in mind - the percentage of those at home (due to Covid) has increased significantly versus the "norm". So mid-week parking during the day has not historically been an issue for most residents, and they suck-it-up on the weekends - but now, they see it every day. Understandably, this makes any nuisance a greater issue than it had been before.

You lot should try living in London (or any other large city) and finding parking near to your house/apartment.

First world problems are tough here in Vancouver.