We need to have tolls on the bridges and/or roads.... too many cars.
North Shore Trail Riding Etiquette and Behavior in a Global Pandemic
Posted by: Xorrox
Posted by: D_C_
And we're back to our regular programming. Fromme lot was full at 5:30 with a line of cars waiting to park.
Yeah that was crazy....but I don't think we are back to regular at all! I don't think I've ever seen it so lined up, certainly not on a week day.
Like I said previously: "The big question is whether this explosion in mountain biking and hiking will die down as things gradually return to "normal" or if a lot of people will now have made it a new part of their daily routines. If that is the case, I hope our local governments are ready to quickly respond to this increased demand."
It's also important to note that NOT many people are carpooling yet...so while the number of riders has gone up, the numbers of cars has increased multi-fold. And since many of us drive trucks, it doesn't make street parking all that efficient.
Posted by: Brocklanders
Too bad Metro Vancouver didn't just keep the parking at Lynn headwaters closed for the summer. What a gong show, the road is way too narrow for cars, walkers, dogs, strollers and everything else. Witnessed two guys almost in a fight over a parking spot riding thru there today. What a mess.
Those crowds were just pushed into the residential areas. I drove up Hoskins on a Saturday when the parking was closed and it was a mess of people walking on the street, driver doors wide open, etc...
They fenced off the gravel parking area at the LSCR - is this covid related or are they building something there? Annoying that you get all the way out there and lack of parking is the issue, since it’s so far out there with a ton of available land.
The last couple of times I've been through there, it looked like they were getting ready to do work of some sort. My guess would be paving the lot. I can't see them putting in any more structures.
Posted by: Bull_Dozer
They fenced off the gravel parking area at the LSCR - is this covid related or are they building something there? Annoying that you get all the way out there and lack of parking is the issue, since it’s so far out there with a ton of available land.
I thought they built an additional lot just before the filtration building on the west side of Lilloett ?
Posted by: Brocklanders
I thought they built an additional lot just before the filtration building on the west side of Lilloett ?
The one that's meant for people accessing Lynn Canyon? It's quite small - might fit like 30 cars. Hopefully they are paving the gravel area and extending the main parking lot.
Posted by: Bull_Dozer
Posted by: Brocklanders
I thought they built an additional lot just before the filtration building on the west side of Lilloett ?
The one that's meant for people accessing Lynn Canyon? It's quite small - might fit like 30 cars. Hopefully they are paving the gravel area and extending the main parking lot.
Looks like that's the plan. Rode thru there yesterday.
Posted by: D_C_
And we're back to our regular programming. Fromme lot was full at 5:30 with a line of cars waiting to park.
What time does the gate close? Is it 9pm again?
Do they still have the parking restrictions around the Hyannis area? Haven't tried to park there in a few months. If so, is there still some limited parking (i.e. one side of the street) or is it completely blocked out?
All the signs came down on Friday - Trailforks hasn't been updated.
On the plus side, the city has gotten the message and are now leaving the Blueridge park parking lot open (pretty much at the corner of Berkley and Whitman)...which is a perfect spot to get geared up and you are off the road and away from traffic.
Posted by: Taz123
All the signs came down on Friday - Trailforks hasn't been updated.
On the plus side, the city has gotten the message and are now leaving the Blueridge park parking lot open (pretty much at the corner of Berkley and Whitman)...which is a perfect spot to get geared up and you are off the road and away from traffic.
Thanks - that's good news. Yeah I was thinking the same thing recently - if parking is such an issue and there are existing public lots that could be used then that seems like an obvious solution. According to google maps it looks like there's also an elementary school in the neighborhood. Could the school's parking lot also be used? Would make sense for bikes but likely too far for bikers.
Interesting view. Apply this to our sport. I was in Squamish Wednesday evening and I was stunned at the number of people out riding. Not crowded but still in places you really had to watch for others coming up or down on two way trails. Does North Van and other destinations need more trails, more parking and other infrastructure or do we need to get ahead of overuse now? The Sproat alpine trails get too crowded for my tastes. I don’t ski weekends. High capacity lifts reduce wait times but the runs are crowded and suck. When I ride now the trails have much more traffic because the bike park isn’t open. The places where people park are full. It’s not really a problem for me yet. But there have been a few close ones on blind corners where buddy didn’t hear my bell.
North Van isn’t a destination like Whistler is but it certainly is for lower mainland riders and I’m sure there are riders that come from away.
What do others think of this?
Anything lift access can get overcrowded, but I've never felt overcrowded on a normal trail ride. I don't know about you guys, but on an average Fromme ride I rarely see more than like 20 riders after I leave the parking lot. Yes, on the prime weekends over the warmer months the top busy trails (bobsled, half nelson, espresso, boogie nights, lost lake, etc.) and shuttle routes might get a fair bit of traffic but it's easy to escape that just by riding different trails.
IMO the main trail networks have mostly been totally underutilized and still have a lot of room for additional capacity outside of a select few trails/routes.
According to trailforks Squamish has 588km of trails (I assume that's overstated and counts a lot of dirt roads and multi use paths, but say the real # is 1/3 of that (approx. 200km). Mathematically, you could have 2,000 riders riding at once and they would each have 100m of trail to themselves. Obviously that's not how it works in the real world, but I think you get what I am trying to say.
I think the issue is more around stuff like parking, where a bottleneck occurs.
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