Decision to re-open York Regional Forest welcomed by Newmarket residents

Forcing people onto crowded sidewalks had put more people at risk, Mark Levert says

Yorkregion.com
April 20, 2020
Kim Champion

Newmarket resident Mark Levert, and his Boston terrier, Maggie. Supplied photo
The Regional Municipality of York was barking up the wrong tree when it closed York Regional Forest’s 120-kilometres of trails in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19, says a Newmarket man who enjoys walking his dog there.

And now, two weeks after that decision sparked a backlash among residents who regularly use the 23-square-kilometre natural space, the regional government announced Friday it would reopen the forest for public use, effective immediately.

“With our collective efforts to help flatten the curve working, York Region is in the process of reopening public access to the York Regional Forest by this weekend, with stricter guidelines for all users,” York Region spokesperson Patrick Casey told NewmarketToday.

That’s good news to Mark Levert who, along with his beloved Boston terrier, Maggie, likes to get at least one hour of exercise outdoors where it is easier to follow physical distancing guidelines of being six feet away from others during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Having the forest back is not only good for my health, but I can't express how much of a boost it is emotionally," Levert said. "I am one of those people who, at 60 years old, may not have a job to go back to and like many Canadians we are struggling financially. I need hope, and having the forest to walk in again does make me smile."

Levert was dismayed to learn of the forest’s closure on April 4 and contacted his Newmarket councillor, Bob Kwapis, as well as York Region chairman Wayne Emmerson, to plead his case for leaving the green space open.

In a letter to Emmerson, Levert said he expressed a strong concern that a well-meaning action of closing the forest taken to curb the infection rates is actually putting people at risk by forcing them into higher density areas where it is difficult to keep six feet apart on sidewalks or the increasingly crowded Fairy Lake.

As someone with a compromised immune system, Levert is at higher risk for developing a severe form of the respiratory disease. He believes closing the forest put more people at risk of spreading the new coronavirus.

“Over two days, I had to walk in Fairy Lake as I will not walk on a narrow sidewalk where it is nearly impossible to physically distance,” said Levert, adding he passed more than 70 people in a few hours during the recent long weekend.

“I have no issue with laws and measures that help keep people safe, and we know 100 per cent you can get COVID-19 if you are within six feet of an infected person,” Levert said. “But as the pandemic drags on, I think draconian laws that prevent a person from being in a field with a dog or rollerblading in an empty parking lot will eventually cause civil unrest.”

The York Regional Forest is now open with the following strict guidelines for all users during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• All dogs must be leashed and under control at all times;
• The off-leash dog area at Bendor and Graves Forest Tract remain closed until further notice;
• Practise physical distancing of at least 2 metres (six feet) between yourself and other forest users, both on the tracts and in common parking areas;
• Do not litter, including garbage, personal protective equipment and pet waste;
• Please be kind and act responsibly.
• Meanwhile, York Regional Police today said in a social media statement that anyone who plans to visit any of the York Regional Forest tracts this weekend must maintain a physical distance of six feet from each other and do not gather in groups in the parking lots.

"You can expect to see police and bylaw officers providing education and enforcing the new laws," York police said.