Mount Royal Park Usage

Photo : © Les Amis de la montagne

The quality of the visitor experience in Mount Royal Park depends on a delicate balance between the state of the park, its infrastructure and the services it offers, the visitation rate and the overall compliance with regulations in place.

Protecting our Mountain

Several significant usage problems on Mount Royal stem from the evolution of user behaviour over time combined with intensive site use and visitation. It bears mentioning that Mount Royal Park alone is visited by more than 5 million visitors each year, and that more and more major events are held on the mountain. Impacts caused by temporary infrastructure, off-trail running or walking, animal feeding and the practice of prohibited sports, for example, are on the rise.

Without concerted action, park accessibility, safety and cleanliness, not to mention the integrity of its natural environments, infrastructures and landscapes, will be compromised, with serious consequences for the site, its natural habitats and visitors.

Les amis de la montagne has been working for more than 30 years to implement a series of concerted measures, jointly supported by those in charge of Mount Royal Park management, and to develop possible suggestions to various issues such as:
  • Ensure a police presence and control measures in response to issues requiring intervention
  • Ensure an increased presence of an awareness-raising and conservation patrol on the territory
  • Ensure a continuous presence on site serving as a liaison between the various services and stakeholders on the territory
  • Implement effective means to solve sanitary and waste accumulation problems
  • Review the means of informing and sensitizing users, in particular by means of signage, communication campaigns on park regulations, and call for respect for existing regulations and good citizenship
  • Conduct a sustained follow-up of the evolution of park visitation and associated problems to ensure the implementation of quick and effective corrective measures

For More Information

Rapport d’observation des problématiques d’usage des espaces publics dans le parc du Mont-Royal en mai 2015, published by Les amis de la montagne, June 2015.
Consensus # 42 of the Table de concertation du Mont Royal : Des inquiétudes croissantes concernant le parc du Mont-Royal ; Avis de la Table de concertation du Mont-Royal au maire de Montréal

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