Residents oppose plan to clear trees to expand North Shore's Lynn Canyon parking lot

Residents on Metro Vancouver's North Shore are voicing their opposition against plans to cut down more than 50 trees for a parking lot expansion at Lynn Canyon Park. 

The project was approved by District of North Vancouver council members last year to address traffic problems in the area around the popular park.

Kim Hughes, whose home is shielded by a wall of cedars and Douglas firs about to get the axe, says she's one of many residents who want the trees to remain standing.

"The owls fly to these trees, we have falcons in these trees, we recently had bats fly to these trees," Hughes said. 

District Mayor Mike Little says concerns from residents have been taken into account.

"The initial proposal was for significantly more parking, which was going to result in significantly more tree loss," Little said.

"We talked to the community, we revised it down."

7 parking spots added

Lynn Canyon is one of Metro Vancouver's most popular parks, and its parking lots are known to get crowded. 

The expansion will add seven more parking spots and a traffic turnaround, and the lot will be paved to improve accessibility.

Construction is scheduled to start next month. 

But residents like Hughes says it doesn't make any sense to cut down so many trees in an area where people come to commune with nature. 

"All of this greenery that's working for this environment, it's going to take decades for it to recover," she said.