Centennial Park in Moncton closes trails amidst province woods ban

Moncton, N.B., Centennial park has placed security guards amid woods ban.

While many parks and trails across the region remain closed due to ongoing wildfire restrictions, a popular Moncton green space is partially affected.

Centennial Park, a major attraction for Moncton residents and visitors, has seen trail closures implemented. Despite its central location, city officials say the park’s heavily wooded areas pose a significant fire risk.

“Most of our parks are open. It’s really just a few where there are a lot of trees and it’s quite heavily wooded,” explained Aloma Jardine of the City of Moncton. “We have put restrictions in to some of our more heavily wooded areas of the city and parks, Mapleton Park, Irishtown Nature Park and then just the trails portion of Centennial Park. And those were picked because those are the most at risk areas for fires.”

According to Jardine, the city has even deployed security guards to key parks to reinforce the closures, as signage alone proved insufficient.

“There are security guards in a couple of key parks and that’s more or less just to help remind people not everyone may have heard that they are closed,” she said.

The restrictions have been met with mixed reactions from the community.

One park visitor, who has lived in Moncton for 40 years, believes the closures are justified. “Some people go in there and smoke that little spark will set this beautiful park on fire...I don’t think the restrictions are unreasonable.”

However, others feel the trail closures are overly cautious.

“It just like stops people from you know having a nice walk and enjoying the weather around the trail,” said another park user. “I’m just saying at this point there’s no reason for it to remain closed.”

Jardine acknowledged the inconvenience but emphasized the importance of public safety. “You know it is unfortunate to be in the summer and not be able to use all the parks,” she said. “There are lots of other places to explore... but even as you’re using those, just be extra cautious as things are extremely dry, and so we appreciate that people are conscious of that as they’re using public spaces.”

City officials say rainfall is crucial for reopening the trails and are urging residents to monitor the city’s social media channels for weekly updates.

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