Derby Reach regional park, Langley

Greater Vancouver’s regional authority manages 138 square kilometres of parks and protected zones, an area 30 per cent bigger than the City of Paris. Staff put the number of park visits in 2012 at 10 million. The regional land inventory includes key sites across the region — Pacific Spirit (adjacent to UBC), Burnaby Lake, Lynn Headwaters,  Campbell Valley — as well as a growing number of cycling and pedestrian greenways.

Despite all this, the proposed restructuring or dismantling of the regional parks system has attracted little attention beyond a couple of news articles in April, 2013. As the Metro Vancouver Board launched a parks services review, reporter Jeff Nagel quoted  prominent mayors as suggesting that the region and municipalities are duplicating each other’s efforts. Continue reading →