Planning for Parking and Access in the North Shore Mountain Neighbourhoods, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The North Shore recreational area in North Vancouver, British Columbia is world renowned for mountain biking, but its trails are also used by hikers and other recreational users. Informal trails have been built in an undeveloped mountain area immediately adjacent to an established residential neighborhood. Over the years, the demand for parking and access to this alpine area has led to issues arising between the residents and the recreational users, particularly related to parking in residential neighborhoods. The District of North Vancouver has been studying the transportation and parking issues as part of the development of a broader Alpine Recreational Strategic Plan. The District used interviews and field surveys of the alpine area users to develop a parking generation rate for this unique recreational use. This allowed for the forecast of parking demand and the development of solution options to separate recreational parking from the residential areas. The options were developed through an extensive public consultation process that led to the District Council supporting recreational access within a planning framework that included provision for formalized access and staging areas into the extensive trail system. A parking and shuttling strategy was developed that served the recreational demand, aligned the parking supply with the trailhead locations, and lessened the impact on residential streets. This paper reviews the transportation issues arising when municipalities are faced with an unplanned recreational use and explores strategies for reaching consensual solutions.