January 16, 2018
What are the problems at Mount Seymour Provincial Park?
- Public parking. The public is relegated to parking in winter in lower lot 5, which is about one kilometer from the hiking trailhead. They must walk up the busy road to reach the trailhead. There is no other route.
- Provincial park master plans are supposed to be revised every 5 years. The Mount Seymour master plan is 34 years old and out of date. Half the ski area is not within the CRA boundary. Some of the runs are outside the provincial park and inside the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.
- The park road is gated at the bottom between 11 pm and 7 am. The gate prevents access to all the lower trails in addition to the summit area. Opening the gate earlier would alleviate congestion and provide expanded recreation opportunities for park visitors.
BC Parks was supposed to implement a west side snowshoe trail from lower lot 5 but it never happened. Part of the problem is that the trail is outside the park in the Lower Seymour Conservancy. It would take inter-agency cooperation. Is that difficult?
BC Parks don't have staff or funds to undertake the planning process at Mount Seymour. Staff is currently working on Pinecone Burke park planning leaving insufficient resources to tackle the massive Mount Seymour planning process. The FMCBC already had a meeting with Jennie Aikman, regional director of provincial parks for southwest B.C. The FMCBC asked that the park master plan, the park use permit for the ski area (PUP 1505) and the ski area development plan be done concurrently. Ms. Aikman agreed.
This information comes from Alex Wallace of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C.