KINGSTON -- Certain walking trails are set to reopen in Kingston and eastern Ontario, as a first step to easing some COVID-19 restrictions in the area.

The Cataraqui Regional Conservation Authority closed the popular trails ahead of the Easter long-weekend. At the time, the CRCA said that there were issues with physical distancing by those using the trails and it wanted to prevent spread of novel coronavirus during a busy weekend.

It’s part of a wider desire to see some restrictions eased in the area.

On Tuesday, Kingston City Council voted to ask the province to allow local health units more flexibility to make decisions about easing COVID-19 restrictions.

Mayor Bryan Paterson called the move to open trails “a first step.”

“I think that starting with some low risk, outdoor activities like some trails where people can still easily physically distance and get exercise, is exactly the right way to go,” Paterson explains to CTV News Ottawa. “And if things go well we can slowly, carefully, at the right time, open some other outdoor pieces as well.”

He stressed though that the motion was not meant to open businesses, but instead, allow the health units to have more say while the pandemic continues.

The City of Kingston has had success with “flattening the curve,” and rates remain low.

A total of 59 people had tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 23, and three of those had remained active with one person recently testing positive in a long-term care home.

The trails are run by the conservation authority.

Kingston Frontenac Lennox & Addington Public Health said they’d spoken with the CRCA to reopen the trails, as many people use them as a chance to get exercise.

After discussions with local municipalities and health authorities, CRCA officials say they’ll be reopening seven of them in all, with restrictions and rules in place:

  • Users must practice two metre physical distancing rules with other hikers
  • Parking lot capacity in certain areas will be reduced to keep visitor volumes low
  • All visitors must be in groups of five or less
  • Washrooms, benches, board walks, pavilions will all be closed

What is re-opening starting April 25

  • Cataraqui Trail (Strathcona to Smith Falls)
  • Parrott’s Bay Conservation Area (Loyalist Township)
  • Lemoine Point Conservation Area (City of Kingston)
  • Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area (City of Kingston)
  • Gould Lake Conservation Area (Township of South Frontenac)
  • Lyn Valley Conservation Area (Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley)
  • Marble Rock Conservation Area (Town of Gananoque)

The CRCA says a few of their conservation lands will stay closed.

The Marshland Conservation Area in Kingston can’t be reopened because it’s not wide enough to allow for proper physical distancing.

The Mac Johnson Wildlife Centre will also stay closed with the city saying that decision came after discussions with the local health unit.

“The number of cases of coronavirus appear to be levelling off in the Kingston Frontenac, Lennox & Addington area, however that is not the case in all areas of our region” says the CRCA in a release. “On recommendations from the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit, Mac Johnson Wildlife Area in the City of Brockville will remain closed at this time.”

If people don’t adhere to keeping physical distancing measures, the CRCA says the decision will be revisited, and they will keep an eye on each local areas case numbers.