Last updated on April 6, 2021
The NCC invited members of the public to respond to an online survey about parkway use in Gatineau Park. The NCC survey was conducted between March 12 to April 5, 2021.
The feedback provided by participants will be considered as part of parkway programming for the spring to fall 2021 season. More details will follow.
Gatineau Park’s parkways form a 38-km network of scenic roads that offer beautiful perspectives of the Park.
In May 2020, in response to the global pandemic, the NCC initiated a pilot project to reserve the parkways for active use to create more space for safe outdoor activity free from potential conflict with motor vehicles, at a time when many physical activity venues such as fitness centres and swimming pools were closed to the public.
In July 2020, the NCC opened the parkways to motor vehicles on Sunday afternoons and evenings to ensure that users with mobility challenges had access to the parts of the Park that were accessible only via the parkways. The NCC tracked user data and established a user survey to gauge the results of the pilot project. These data points suggested high levels of use (approximately 202,178 visits from May to October 2020) and high levels of satisfaction (96 percent) with the pilot project.
As a result of this pilot project, the NCC is moving forward on two fronts.
- First, we are studying the feasibility of implementing an accessible shuttle bus system along the parkways beginning in 2022 that could include sustained periods during which the parkways would be closed to private motor vehicles.
- Second, in light of the ongoing pandemic, we are extending the 2020 pilot project to 2021, but with the possibility of amendments to the schedule in terms of when the parkways would be open to private motor vehicles.