The popular Crowe Bridge Park will be closed for the remainder of the season effective Thursday, municipal officials have announced.According to the Municipality of Trent Hills, which operates the park on behalf of the Crowe Valley Conservation Authority, the park has seen “consistent” overcrowding and illegal parking along the roadside despite attempts to control the number of people during a trial period earlier this month.The park is located about 10 kilometres north of Campbellford on the Crowe River, or about 45 kilometres southeast of Peterborough.The municipality opened the park on July 3 as a trial period amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have tried public education, signage and staffing the gate but no matter how many resources we throw at the issue, it isn’t working,” said Trent Hills Mayor Bob Crate. “We understand that these are difficult times and people are looking for a break, but this small area just can’t handle the volume of people so we have to think about public health and close it.”
The municipality says the closure will be strictly enforced and feature signage prohibiting entry.
Northumberland OPP will also assist the municipality by making regular patrols to ensure compliance with the Trespass to Property Act.
The closure goes into effect at 4 p.m on Thursday.