The Burnaby Mountain Trail Management plan is entering the community engagement phase

With more than 30 kilometers of trails spanning 578 hectares, the Burnaby Mountain trail system attracts more visitors than any other park in the city. Since the pandemic began in 2020, the trails around the mountain have attracted more than 1 million visitors annually. As a national park, Burnaby Mountain is an environmentally sensitive area that requires conservation, and the city is now working on a plan to balance conservation needs with community recreation needs. The new plan will be presented to the city council on Monday, April 29.

Playground of the Gods on Burnaby Mountain. Photo: Lubna El Elaimy

According to a presentation at the April 16 Parks Recreation and Culture Committee (PRCC) meeting by Heather Edwards, manager of parks, planning, design and development, cell phone tracking data shows that 96% of visitors to the area come from is from Metro Vancouver, 50% from Burnaby and 23% from the UniverCity and SFU community on the mountain.

As the plan enters the community engagement phase, the City is interested in hearing from trail users, community members, neighbors, Indigenous host nations and other stakeholders. Specifically, the city is seeking feedback on the best way to balance conservation and recreation, address the environmental damage caused by poor trails and improve aging infrastructure.

Community involvement will begin on May 1, 2024. According to Andre Isakov, director of parks, recreation and cultural planning for the city, the involvement will take the form of surveys, open houses and meetings with specialized stakeholder groups. Outreach and engagement with First Nations will be part of the process.

“Communication involvement is very important. It is critical to have broad community support and consensus on how we move forward with protecting Burnaby Mountain as a park and how we can also sustainably meet various recreational needs and desires of the community ,” said Isakov.

Part of the Velodrome Trail on Burnaby Mountain. Photo: Henrik Loecke

Isakov told the Beacon that the city has been considering a trail management plan for Burnaby Mountain for several years, especially after the pandemic saw an increase in trail use. In addition to the formal trails on the mountain, rogue and informal trails have also caused environmental damage over the years. Isakov added that some of the mountain’s infrastructure is outdated or informal and needs to be formalized.

“We know that it is a very sensitive area from an ecological point of view, but we also know that there is a lot of demand and pressure for the use of outdoor recreational routes. Through that engagement process, we’re trying to find that delicate balance of making sure that the uses that we have and the infrastructure investments that we make are strategic,” Isakov said. “We know we need to invest in and improve some of these routes, but we want to make sure these improvements are strategic and that we work with the community to participate in the improvement plan.”

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