Barb Sweet
The Telegram
Friday morning the sun was bright, the day promising the warmest of the season so far, and foot and bike traffic on Signal Hill was picking up.
The hill was quiet, with no traffic except authorized vehicles. But it will not be the case after this weekend.,
Parks Canada eastern Newfoundland and Labrador field unit superintendent Bill Brake was spending the morning explaining to media, one by one, how the famed hill and its trails, particularly popular North Head Trail, will work come Monday.
“One of our concerns is people may become complacent,” said Brake, explaining a flurry of robust social media messaging from Parks Canada so the sites can be enjoyed safely.
“It’s the new reality. … We really, really need the co-operation of the public.”
More than 100 new signs have been installed at Signal Hill and Cape Spear explaining the new rules, including that people use social distancing of two metres, or six feet, when encountering others.
Basically, if people want to enjoy the parks, they have to accept significant changes.
A few times, Brake had to explain to people coming up the trail what the new rules will be.
New rules
Starting Monday, Signal Hill and Cape Spear will be officially open with the new restrictions.
The North Head Trail, for instance, will be one directional, starting at the top of Signal Hill and continuing downward to the Battery with the return trip looping back around up Signal Hill Road to the parking lot.
These rules, said Brake, are meant to keep park staff and the public safe — public health authority advice has been overlaid with Parks Canada’s regular public safety program.
“Can this open and be safely used under what circumstances?” Brake said.
Following the rules will help the federal parks and sites move through the next stages of lifting the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Park staff are well aware people have been using the trails all along, even though they were officially closed for the winter.
Brake said with limited staff, that could have been dangerous, because if someone was hurt they might not be found and helped.
As people trickled on and off Signal Hill Friday, the reviews were mixed. Some don’t like the fact the North Head Trail is one direction starting at the top of the hill, as you get more exercise climbing up the trail from The Battery.
And some said it’s a palatable price to pay for access amid the pandemic.
Some people liked the idea of cars being banned from the road and parking lot these past weeks and wished that would continue.
One cyclist declined to speak to a reporter because, technically, he was supposed to be working — a sign that glorious weather is tempting some work-at-homers to be more flexible with their day’s structure in order to take advantage of the sunshine.
Getting fresh air
Meanwhile, Sharon Skinner and Marilyn Boone had walked up the road to Signal Hill and were planning to go back down the road and head over for a one-directional walk around Quidi Vidi Lake.
“We've been walking here a week now. Last year we did it practically every day,” Boone said.
“I think the national parks should be open. I don’t think people have very much more to do other than spend time outside.”
“If you apply the rules and keep the social distance as we are … enjoy the fresh air,” Skinner said.
Boone said if people can go to the grocery store and be six feet from another shopper, there’s no reason not to be able to enjoy an outdoor site such as a national park if they do so with consideration for others.
“I think people have more common sense than they are given credit for,” she said.
Both she and Skinner said clear signage for trails is vital, especially with different entry points.
“If they mark it well and people know what they are supposed to do, I think that is huge … once everybody gets following it,” said Skinner, adding it would have been impossible to have a two-way North Head Trail with the existing stairs and paths.
“The bottom line is it is very narrow, and whatever works so people can still do it,” she said.
“It’s not as good a workout going down, though,” Boone said.
“I think that is a small sacrifice to pay. The most important priority to me is that we can get out."
"However they want to make that work, I am onboard anyway,” Skinner said.
Wrong direction
Rob Prowse had just completed the one-way walk on Cuckold’s Cove, which was fine with him.
But he also said the North Head Trail would have been better one-way coming up from the Battery.
“The one directional way is going down the North Head Trail, which for people who do the trail for exercise, that is counterintuitive. That doesn’t make sense because when you start down at the Battery, the vast majority of the trail is uphill. … So, for exercise, it makes a lot more sense to have the unidirectional sign pointing up the trail, not down the trail.
“It has been that way forever. We have been doing it for years. And I understand most of the tourists are up here, but the people who are using the trail for health reasons predominantly always start at the bottom and come up this way.”
Facilities closed
When Monday comes, people who go to either Cape Spear, Signal Hill or other national monuments and sites that have opened should make sure they use the washroom before leaving home, as all facilities remain shuttered for now.
Besides dealing with the tight quarters in buildings like Cabot Tower, Parks Canada has to have the capacity to be able to keep the buildings clean and sanitized for the public and staff, Brake said.
Parks Canada is urging people to check the particular site’s website for the most up-to-date information on park restrictions and what facilities are open or closed.
This is what was listed Friday:
What’s open as of June 1 on Signal Hill:
Roadway
Lower parking lot
Upper parking lot
Fort York lookout
North Head Trail — one-way pedestrian use starting from the upper parking lot
Ladies’ Lookout Trail — one-way pedestrian use starting from the Burma Road Trail
Gibbett Hill Trail — regular two-way use
Visitors’ centre to Citadel Trail — regular two-way use from the visitors’ centre to Queen's Battery Barracks; one-way pedestrian use starting from Queen's Battery Barracks to Cabot Tower
Burma Road Trail — regular two-way use
Cape Spear
Roadway
Upper parking lot
Lower parking lot
Most Easterly Point path — regular two-way use
Most Easterly Point lookout — upper and lower
Lighthouse Loop Trail — regular two-way use
Coastal Trail — obey posted signage for direction of use
Coastal Trail Extensions — regular two-way use
If you wish to complete the entire coastal trail at Cape Spear, it is recommended to go north to south (Blackhead to Petty Harbour).
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