Parking poses problems at Bonshaw Provincial Park

Hikers, bikers and trail runners may be loving the warm fall weather at the BonshawProvincial Park but too many vehicles parkedin the area around the highway areposing a problem, officials say.

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On busy days when the main parking lot is full,people have startedparking vehicles on the grass and along theTrans-CanadaHighway.

"When you're getting that capacity of people in the park it's fantastic to see in some ways, in terms of active living and outdoor living, we just, I think, have to be a bit cautious that we don't love the park to death," saidMegan Harris,co-chair of theBonshawHillsPublic Lands Committee.

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The new, expanded park has more than20kilometres of hiking and mountain bike trails that can be used year-round by the public.

A new parking area off Riverdale Road with 50 spaces was even added this summer to take the load off the main parking area.

"Personally, that area at the back of the park, the northern area of park, is the most beautiful area of the park because it's the oldest forest," Harris pointed out.

The committee thinks people may not know about the additional spaces yet, which is why it's released a map to show the public where to park.

"That shows some of the other areas where people can park, particularly those that are walking the trails or biking the trails and not using the playground that they could use and alleviate some of that parking pressure at the Bonshaw Hills parking lot," Harris said.

It's hard to determinean exact number of park users on a given day, Harris noted. She plans to workwith the province toget a better sense of park use.

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