Parcs Quebec may consider the attack on a female jogger at Mont-St-Bruno Provincial Park in early September an isolated incident, but it still is mulling over installing new safety measures around the park.
A spokesperson confirms the agency is exploring adding geo-marked posts around the trails, something already in place at Parc Michel Chartrand in Longueuil.
“[The posts] know exactly where the person is and it is faster to come here and give some help,” explained Martin Carpentier, the senior expert for development at Longueuil city hall, adding that they also are linked directly to 9-1-1 dispatch.
There are now 176 posts around the Longueuil park, covering 20 km of trails. They come complete with blue signs every 100 meters indicating a hiker's present location.
Since the posts were installed around Parc Michel Chartrand in June, there have been 10 emergency calls that have been responded to, including for heart attacks and broken bones sustained out in the woods.
In early September, a 50-year-old woman was attacked while jogging in the park. A 46-year-old man, Yves Roy, has been charged with attempted murder.