Boundary Bay Regional Park Is Being Overwhelmed. The People Who Love It Are Part of the Problem.

On a summer weekend, Boundary Bay Regional Park sees thousands of visitors. The infrastructure serving them has not changed in years. The ecology is absorbing the impact. Something has to give.

Boundary Bay Regional Park is one of the most ecologically significant spaces in the Lower Mainland. It is a critical stopover on the Pacific Flyway, a breeding ground for shorebirds and waterfowl, and a coastal ecosystem that has survived the development pressure on every side of it because enough people, for long enough, cared about protecting it.

On a summer weekend it is also a traffic disaster. Cars line 72nd Avenue for a kilometre in each direction from the main access points. The parking areas fill before noon. The trails along the dyke carry pedestrian volumes that were not in any design consideration when the park infrastructure was last updated.

The irony is that the people who love the park are stressing it. The families who come to see the herons and the godwits and the dunlins — who make the argument, by their presence, that this park matters to the community — are collectively creating conditions that are not good for the birds or the habitat.

Metro Vancouver Parks is responsible for Boundary Bay Regional Park. They are aware of the capacity issues. They have done assessments. What they have not done is make the investments required to manage the park's popularity — better parking management, shuttle access from remote lots, trail hardening in high-traffic areas, and honest communication with visitors about responsible use.

Boundary Bay will not survive being loved carelessly. The people who love it need to advocate for the investment that makes loving it sustainable.

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