P.E.I. National Park season pass holders can enter automatically this summer
That familiar gesture of a Parks Canada employee waving you through an entry point to P.E.I. National Park won't be happening so frequently at a couple of the entry points this summer.
Starting on June 5, Parks Canada is introducing automated entry gates for season pass holders at the Brackley entrance and Cavendish's Grahams Lane entrance.
Barcode scanners and automated arms will be in place in the lanes previously reserved for vehicles displaying seasonal permits.
The two entry points are part of a pilot project at P.E.I. National Park and will be available only to people with season passes.
Jessica Foster of Parks Canada says there are no plans to reduce staffing because of the automated entry system. (Laura Meader/CBC)
"When these visitors pull up to the automatic arm, there will be a barcode scanner and they'll simply have to scan the barcode that's on their seasonal pass," said Jessica Foster, a visitor experiences manager for Parks Canada. "The arm will lift and they can carry on to their beach destination.
"If things go smoothly and it's well-received, maybe we will look at expanding the automated gates to other park entry points throughout Prince Edward Island National Park."
The Cavendish and Brackley entry points are two of the busiest at the park, which saw about 670,000 visitors in total in 2023.
LISTEN | Changes coming to P.E.I. National Park entry points:
While the new technology should help with permit non-compliance — people who manage to sneak past the kiosks without purchasing and displaying a pass — Foster said that's not the main reason for implementing the new system.
Last year, only 1,438 visitors were cited for non-compliance, making up less than one per cent of the total visitors. Parks Canada said over 20 per cent of people cited purchased a pass after being notified of the need for one.
Foster said the scanners are meant to help with data collection, determining how many visitors enter and what times of day are busiest, for example. That will help park staff make better plans for activities and facilities.
As for the human component and that familiar wave-through, Foster said Parks Canada has no plans now or in the future to reduce staffing.
"We are not removing any of the human resources at these locations, so we will still have the gates staffed with gate attendants and they will have the ability to push a button from inside the entrance gate to raise the arm," she said.
"If [the pilot] were to work well … our plan is never to decrease the amount of human resources," she said.
Instead, Foster said those resources could potentially be moved to locations where they could provide "more meaningful experiences for our visitors."
