City Of Burnaby Pivots Parks GIS Team During COVID-19 Response

Fifteen minutes southeast of Vancouver, Canada, the suburban City of Burnaby is known for its rich trail systems and forested conservation areas. In a city of over 235,000, Burnaby has over 160 parks and trail systems.

“We have great trails,” Asset Management and GIS Specialist Rob Wilson said. “After the coronavirus hit, our usage of the parks and trails have gone way up.”

The City of Burnaby is known for its rich parks and trails systems. To heed provincial guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic, the city put up over 1,250 social-distancing signs.
When the pandemic began keeping people home, the parks and trails team saw increased recreational foot traffic. To proactively educate the public about provincially passed-down social-distancing guidelines and recommendations, the city installed over 1,250 signs encouraging people to stay 2 meters (about 6 feet) apart, abiding one-way rules, and more.