Join Us to Petition The NCC to Restore Access to Gatineau Park Parkways.

As some of you know and some might have not yet. After the borders opened with Quebec we were surprised with the NCC restricting access to the Champlain Parkway, Gatineau Parkway and Lake Fortune Park Way.

Starting May 1st this year, the NCC has closed the Champlain Parkway, Gatineau Parkway and Lake Fortune Park Way for motor vehicle access except from 1pm to half an hour after sunset on Wednesdays/Saturdays and Sundays which leaves access to the park by motor vehicles less than 15% of the time.

After talking with other hike leaders and enthusiasts we decided to start a petition to the NCC to restore access to the way it was before May 1st 2021.

If you love hiking, please sign this petition and spread it, we must act before it is too late, otherwise hiking in Gatineau Park is over as you know it

https://www.change.org/restore_access_to_gatineau_park

You can see the new schedule and the complications from that below. We have itemized the access discrimination issues resulting from this new closure and the implications on hiking routes

Current Gatineau Park parkway schedule since May 1st 2021

Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday: Closed to motor vehicles, only active use all day

Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday: Only active use until 1 pm
Motor vehicle access only From 1 pm to 30 minutes after sunset, shared with active use

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/gatineau-park-parkways-schedule­

Implications on access

This means there is no vehicle access to the parking lots of Pink Lake, Waterfall Trail, Lake Mulivihill, Lake Mulivihill picnic area, Penguin picnic Area, Etiane Brule Look Out , Champlain Lookout, Lake Fortune Lookout, King Mountain Picnic Area. The only exception to the closure is after 1:00pm to half an hour after sunset on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

There is no more short hikes to Pink Lake, King Mountain, Waterfall Trail , Champlain Lookout Loop , or to Western Cabin. This also limits access to any of those places on a morning on ALL WEEK Days.

This will make it impossible for a hike who would like to do only the short loops and trails , finish one and move to the next one by car.

We see this as:

1. Discrimination against hikers and walkers and total bias for exclusive Gatineau Park use by cyclers for the majority of the time.

2. Discrimination against people with disabilities, seniors, people who have physical disabilities that affects their mobility or the amount of physical activity that they are able to do due to any physical or health limitations who are unable to access any of these areas or enjoy a short hike/walk in the morning 7 days a week.

3. Discrimination against families with children. Access to most of the parking lots closed.

4. Discrimination against the average cyclists to close down the road way 85% of the time to motor vehicles that is too challenging for the average cyclist.

5. This will lead to crowdedness hiking trails and full parking lots on the afternoons of Wednesdays/Saturdays and Sundays as the NCC is now cramping everyone except cyclers in those limited times. Only allowing motor vehicles during these 3 limited times.

Some of The Implications on hiking routes ( see the petition for a longer list)

Accessing these parts will require driving to parking lots on the edges of Gatineau park, are almost more than half an hour of driving for any coming from the West side of Ottawa-Gatineau

Implications on hiking routes:
Hikes to Champlain Lookout, King Mountain, Pink Lake, Western Cabin, Etienne Brule will take much longer now (see details in the petition and comment below)

No direct access to the picnic areas at Lake Mulvihill, Penguin and King Mountain

We are not against safety for cyclists, in fact we support that, however we are against closing access to park. The NCC can reduce speed limits for motor vehicles on the Gatineau Parkways and insure that Police enforces the speed limits. The NCC can invest in cycle lanes adjacent to the Gatineau Park Parkways.