City's nature trails now one-way only
Kate Letterick | CBC News | Posted: April 11, 2020 1:00 PM | Last Updated: April 11, 2020
To ensure physical distancing, trails in three Moncton nature parks are one-way only
People using trails in three of Moncton's parks are being reminded they now can only travel in one direction.
One-way signs have been posted on trails at Centennial, Mapleton and Irishtown nature parks.
Jocelyn Cohoon, the city's director of leisure services, says the new rule is intended to reduce the amount of traffic on the trails.
"We were experiencing, particularly on nice days, some congestion on some of our trails that weren't quite wide enough to allow for social distancing, so we have moved in our three regional parks to one directional signage on our major trails," she said.
In addition to travelling in one direction only, people are being asked to stay two metres apart and to alert others before passing them.
People using the trails can choose from a one, 3.7 or five-kilometre loop in each of the parks.
With many people at home because of the pandemic, Cohoon said use of the parks and trails has spiked as people look for ways to remain active and safely get out of the house.
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The parking lots at the three parks have been busy, and Cohoon said some people have asked about vehicles parking next to one another.
"You may see a number of cars in the parking lot," she said. "However, when you're in the park, people are for the most part spaced appropriately."
"We are finding that people are coming and going, so it's not that people are all arriving at a certain time and being next to each other as they're getting out of their cars, so we're keeping an eye on that."
City officials realize the importance of parks and trails, and Cohoon said if people follow the rules, they will remain open.
"Our rinks and our fields are closed and the playgrounds are closed, so really [parks are] the one recreational asset that we have left, so we really want to encourage citizens to respect the signage and to respect the rules to allow us to keep those facilities open." she said.
Cohoon said city staff members monitor the parks and trails every day and are there to answer questions, from a safe distance.