The District of North Vancouver's Quarry Rock has been closed since the start of the pandemic and won't be reopening anytime soon.
The popular hiking trail was initially closed in March 2020 in an effort to discourage crowds from gathering. The district kept the trail closed through 2021 to manage the volume of traffic coming to the Deep Cove neighbourhood while Gallant Avenue was torn up for a storm drain project.
The scenic lookout remains officially off-limits to hikers and selfie seekers due to excessive trail damage caused by the November atmospheric rivers.
North Vancouver District says the trail is still unsafe for use, and repairs are slow-moving due to overlapping jurisdictions in the area.
According to Gavin Joyce, the district's general manager of engineering, parks and facilities, the extent of the damages and the nature of working on the trail are the major factors in its slow repair schedule.
“I've never quite actually seen as much damage, in the neighbourhood of $150,000 to $200,000 worth of damage," Joyce said. "There are two ways to work on the quarry trail. We either have to helicopter materials in from a muster point, or we can muster the crews and have them walk material into the trail.” adding that “we're not seeing an opening at the quarry until later in 2022.”
Both options would come at great expense, but any work would require approval from the province and the First Nations.
Arthur Klein, a local resident who would use the popular trail occasionally throughout the year, said he feels as though it's been forgotten by the district, and that the messaging has been inconsistent.
Klein discussed that most parks and trails have been open since May 2020 and that during the pandemic, outdoor activities were encouraged.
“They made no effort, they just said no, as soon as they came in, they closed it, and they never made any effort to look back,” said Klein.
