Likely traffic spikes creates risks for national parks in 2017
With entrance fees for national parks being waived this year in honour of Canada's 150-year anniversary, these outdoor spaces are expected to see an unprecedentedly high number of visitors in 2017. While this is exciting in terms of promotion for some of the country's most prized attractions—over 900,000 free Discovery Passes were ordered in the two weeks since they were made available in late December—the almost-certain spike in traffic has conservationists and many others worried about how the increased visitor presence will potentially harm the natural areas' ecosystems—and pose risks for the visitors as well.
Two ways in which increased traffic could quickly become problematic are through busier roads and a higher food/trash concentration. If the parks' highway systems become much more crowded, then it significantly increases the likelihood of collisions with animals that are unaccustomed to such a high density of transportation. This is a reality that greatly underscores the value of travel insurance on such outdoors excursions. Similarly, when there is a heightened amount of food and trash circulating throughout these parks, native creatures will be more likely than ever to venture closer to human-occupied areas and potentially cause harm.
Given these concerns, preventing such issues should be a top priority for both the government and national park administrators. Increasing the presence of rangers and maintenance staff is one obvious way to theoretically lower risk, but there have been other propositions suggested as well. One would be to introduce more shuttle buses in busy parks, to dilute the use of personal vehicles. Another is to actively promote some of the generally less-traveled destinations in order to spread out traffic, which is already being done by Parks Canada to a certain extent.