Long-planned upgrades to Nanaimo's Loudon Park off Long Lake hit a bit of a financial snag this week, as a City staff recommendation to substantially increase the budget was replaced with a recommendation for a smaller increase. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

park improvements

Nanaimo’s Loudon Park improvement project being stripped back to basics

Mar 20, 2025 | 5:35 AM

NANAIMO — A popular central Nanaimo park at Long Lake will see some improvements soon, but it likely won’t be at the scale initially envisioned.

During the Wednesday, March 19 finance and audit committee meeting, councillors voted to recommend an increase in the budget for improvements at Loudon Park to $6.5 million, as opposed to the staff-recommended option which would have increased the budget to over $10.8 million, addressing many user concerns.

Several delegates spoke during the meeting, including commodore of the Nanaimo Canoe and Kayak Club Ashley Rowe who uses the area for boat storage and club activities.

“Some immediate needs are the safe, covered and secure equipment storage, our indoor training and meeting space for inclement weather… and improvements in the park for greater accessibility and inclusive programming.”

She said the current setup does not provide a secure storage for their vessels leaving them susceptible to weather, theft, and vandalism, highlighted by a fire in November 2024 which destroyed a restored heritage canoe.

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Water vessels of all kinds are currently stored in this outdoor section of Loudon Park, exposed to the elements and frequent targets of attempted thefts and vandalism. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

On-going issues with Loudon Park identified as needing to be upgraded include improved parking, updating the washroom, a new playground, a covered boathouse and storage, an accessible fishing pier, improved swimming areas, as well as updates to the trail system and park access.

The cheaper option would increase the project’s budget by a little over $1.8 million and would only include a new boathouse and washroom facility, reducing the scope of the original project by about 40 per cent.

The project has been in the detailed design phase since 2019, with cost and budget issues continuing to push it down the line, with $4.7 million currently budgeted, not including this recommended increase.

Rowe said over 1,300 people took part in their club activities last year, with Long Lake being the “ideal location”, as it’s large enough to utilize motorized vessels which they use for their safety boats, something they’re unable to do on Westwood Lake.

Kiersten Mort with the Nanaimo Rowing Club echoed some of those sentiments during her presentation, saying the docks are falling apart, with exposed nails creating hazards for users.

She also spoke about the need for more accessibility and revamp of the playground to reduce some tripping hazards caused by overgrown roots.

“This isn’t just about a new boat house, this is about upgrading the park in general. The park itself is just sad. It’s breaking down, there’s a lot of things that are broken, there are a lot of things that aren’t great about it.”

A more secure and safe dock and fishing area were two of the recomendations in the initial plan for the Loudon Park upgrades. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

In the end, the committee voted to recommend the cheaper option, with Mayor Leonard Krog the lone opposing vote.

Krog said he thinks in time, the smaller facilities will prove to be inadequate.

“But I’m not prepared to see, with great respect, a second-rate facility that will not be attractive, that will not enhance the neighbourhood, that no one will look back on with pride, 10, or 20 or 30 years from now and say, ‘gee we’re sure glad Council went for that second option.’ If I wanted a barn on the lake, I’d build the damn barn myself. I don’t want to see a barn in Loudon Park and that’s really what we’re talking about.”

This option will come back to Council for final approval to increase the budget for the Louden Park improvements project.

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