Front St. in downtown Nanaimo is being redesigned by City staff to include a bi-directional cycle lane and repositioned street parking. (Google Earth)

By Spencer Sterritt

DOWNTOWN REVAMP

Major Front St. revamp fast tracked for 2020

Nov 5, 2019 | 8:46 AM

NANAIMO — A significant project revamping Front St. in downtown Nanaimo is going ahead a year faster than anticipated.

The project, now beginning in 2020, will bring Front St. down to two lanes instead of four throughout the entire stretch along the waterfront.

The east lane, closest to the water, would become a dedicated bi-directional cycle lane to boost cycling and mobility in the downtown area. The west lane, on the side of the cenotaph and various businesses, would become on-street parking.

Introducing on-street parking all along the west side of Front St. is expected to make up for the loss of parking on the east side in front of the Services Canada building and the Pacifica apartment building.

Limiting the number of lanes would also reduce crossing times for pedestrians.

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Nanaimo councillors approved the recommendation to fast track the Front St. redevelopment at their meeting on Monday, Nov. 4. It was discussed and forwarded to council in a previous finance and audit committee meeting.

The project is expected to cost roughly $400,000, funded through the Strategic Infrastructure Reserve.

City manager of transportation Jamie Rose said it’s a “relatively inexpensive” redesign of a sometimes problematic street.

“We heard a lot of people feel Front St. is a barrier for walking, biking (and) getting from downtown to the waterfront,” he told councillors.

The removal of on-street parking and introduction of a cycling lane in front of 38 Front St., known as the Pacifica apartment building, dominated much of the conversation around the council table.

The two councillors who expressed the most concern with the development, councillors Sheryl Armstrong and Jim Turley, specifically mentioned complaints and concerns they received from tenants of the swanky waterfront highrise.

“The biggest concern is deliveries,” Turley said. “If you look at the buildings along Front St., the one which is going to be most impacted is the highrise.”

Bill Sims, director of engineering and public works for the City, stepped into the presentation to specifically address the concerns.

“In the case of Pacifica…there’s limitations on how they do their business or take deliveries or et cetera. I’m not sure we can accomodate everyone’s special conditions all the time. I think we’re looking at what is the best use of the road right-of-way and it’s necessarily for a single property owner, business or building to benefit from.”

Coun. Ian Thorpe said he was concerned and curious about how many cars actually use Front St. and if narrowing the scope of the road would lead to gridlock.

“I know we want to get more people involved in active transportation but I also know we don’t want to slow down the flow of vehicular traffic through our city. It’s very important to keep things moving.”

Staff said a consultant assured these changes wouldn’t cause gridlock in the busy area by restricting cars and having buses take up all available room when making stops.

Despite concerns, the project was unanimously approved by councillors at this stage.

Staff will return to council chambers with designs and final plans in the new year for final approval.

The re-development is one aspect of a much larger shift coming to downtown Nanaimo, including altered intersections, aesthetic renovations and increased cycling infrastructure.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit