Whenever you turn on a water tap or flush a toilet, you are using the services of the Metro Vancouver Regional District which is a federation of municipal governments in our region. While water and sewer services represent around 70% of the expenditures of the regional district’s $831 million budget, it is likely the regional parks system that most people associate with the district.
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| Map of Metro Vancouver Regional District Parks, Greenways, and Conservation Areas. Select map to enlarge. |
The goal of the Metro Vancouver parks division is to “protecting Metro Vancouver’s natural areas and connecting people with them.”
The parks system has a diversity of ecosystems as shown in the following table which includes a significant amount of wetlands.
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| Ecosystems in Metro Vancouver Regional Parks. Select chart to enlarge. |
The Metro Vancouver Regional District invested around $46 million into its parks, greenways, and conservation lands last year, including expanding this system of protected areas. The regional district’s park division has a significant presence in the South of Fraser.
Last year, the regional district acquired 11.04 hectares of land at Campbell Valley Regional Park, Glen Valley Regional Park, Kanaka Creek Regional Park, and the Widgeon Marsh Regional Park Reserve.
The number of people visiting Metro Vancouver regional parks has been growing, with May through August being the busiest time of year for parks visits. The following table shows the number of people that visited regional parks last year.
| Park Name | 2018 Visit |
|---|---|
| Pacific Spirit Regional Park | 2,619,000 |
| Boundary Bay Regional Park* | 920,000 |
| Capilano River Regional Park | 834,000 |
| Derby Reach Regional Park* | 810,000 |
| Belcarra Regional Park | 738,000 |
| Campbell Valley Regional Park* | 614,000 |
| Grouse Mountain Regional Park | 560,000 |
| Tynehead Regional Park* | 502,000 |
| Kanaka Creek Regional Park | 446,000 |
| Aldergrove Regional Park* | 407,000 |
| Burnaby Lake Regional Park | 399,000 |
| Lynn Headwaters Regional Park | 344,000 |
| Deas Island Regional Park* | 313,000 |
| Iona Beach Regional Park | 303,000 |
| Crippen Regional Park | 290,000 |
| Brae Island Regional Park | 284,000 |
| Matsqui Trail Regional Park | 277,000 |
| Colony Farm Regional Park | 263,000 |
| Brunette-Fraser Regional Greenway | 207,000 |
| Pitt River Regional Greenway | 162,000 |
| Minnekhada Regional Park | 143,000 |
| Surrey Bend Regional Park* | 104,000 |
| Glen Valley Regional Park* | 87,000 |
| Delta-South Surrey Regional Greenway* | 75,000 |
| Seymour River Regional Greenway | 27,000 |
| Barnston Island Regional Park* | 11,000 |
*South of Fraser
As the goal of Metro Vancouver is to connect people with our natural areas, over 1,050 programs such as field trips and workshops where offered last year with over 60,000 people participating in them.
For more information about Metro Vancouver’s park system, please have a look at their most recent parks annual report in the May 15th Regional Parks Committee agenda.
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