Upgrades to trails in the Minnekhada regional park area have upset several Coquitlam residents, who say the area is losing some of its natural beauty.
Scott Dalgleish has walked the trails for years and said unlike Mundy Park or Rocky Point, Minnekhada does not have an urban-park feel.
"As far as Coquitlam is concerned, it is the last place to go where there is a nice nature walk," he said. "Now, it is wide enough to drive my car through."
Dalgleish said other people he has met in the park do not like the new paths and Metro Vancouver has received several complaints. He wants to see the Minnekhada kept in its natural state as much as possible.
But Frieda Schade, the regional district's central area manager, told The Tri-City News the trail upgrades were necessary to properly define the path to protect park habitat. Many hikers inadvertently veer off the trail, she said, forging new paths in the area and disrupting the natural vegetation.
"The routes became very convoluted," she said. "This should keep people on the trail and protect the sensitive ecosystems that are beside the trail."
Contrary to some concerns from the public, Schade said Metro Vancouver is not taking a bulldozer into the park. A smaller utility vehicle has been used, although much of the trails, particularly the High Knoll switchbacks, which have not been completed, will be built by hand.
Another misconception is that the trails have been widened, she said. In fact, the trails are the same size and once surrounding vegetation grows back and some leaves fall, the path will return to normal.
"They might look wider," she said. "The vegetation will grow back around them and they will be the same size."
Schade said Metro Vancouver has begun using gravel to resurface its trails, which can be jarring for those who are accustomed to the mulch that was previously used. When the gravel is fresh and clean, the colour gives people the impression that a road way is being built, which is not the case, she said.
