Work is ongoing to establish safer and improved active transportation corridors through Cedar, which is a vast and rural community with few amenities for non vehicular road users. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

Creating connections

RDN eyes active transportation improvements in Cedar

Nov 28, 2025 | 6:46 AM

NANAIMO — By next summer, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) expects a priority project to be selected to bolster active transportation options in Cedar.

The RDN is formulating an active transportation plan for the rural, amenity-starved community south of Nanaimo.

During a Wednesday, Nov 26 open house at Cedar Heritage Centre on MacMillan Rd., RDN electoral area ‘A’ director Jessica Stanley said improving safety for non-vehicular road users remains a top local priority.

She said the importance of improving safety for all forms of active transportation users was made clear to her during the 2022 municipal election campaign.

Map of the focal area to improve active mobility services in Cedar is bordered by the orange marking (RDN)

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“It was the number one issue on doorsteps, people are concerned about road safety, people are concerned about their kids’ ability to walk or ride to school safety,” Stanley told NanaimoNewsNOW at the open house.

Stanley believes a leading contender to help address the substantial active transportation deficit in Cedar is creating a separated, multi-use pathway through the village core by connecting Cedar Secondary School with Cedar Elementary School.

Common themes at the open house focused on the speed of vehicles, as well as a lack of street lighting and sidewalks.

“We’ve had a number of significant issues in the community; we’ve had a few fatalities and they’re heartbreaking — it makes people feel unsafe to walk alongside the road,” Stanley pointed out.

Highly publicized incidents last year of vulnerable pedestrians killed in Cedar included the apparent fatal hit-and-run of 21-year-old Charles Tommy in October 2024 on Harmac Rd.

Tommy’s case remains unsolved.

In February 2024, 90-year-old Abertha Abma was killed when she was struck by hit-and-run driver Justin Kenneth Nicholls on Cedar Rd.

He was handed a non-custodial sentence last month.

Several display boards were set up at this week’s open house were local residents had the chance to outline their opinions. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Stanley said barriers in the way are led by a lack of autonomy for the RDN since it’s the B.C. government’s jurisdiction to address roadway infrastructure in unincorporated rural districts like Cedar.

“We have roads with high speeds, we have poor visibility, we don’t have streetlights, we don’t have sidewalks. In some areas, we have a very small space for people to walk or ride alongside the road.”

Candidly, Stanley is convinced that the idea of installing a series of streetlights in Cedar wouldn’t be accepted.

The RDN is attempting to create safer and improved non-vehicular connections between homes, schools, and services, as well as supporting low-carbon travel and healthier lifestyles.

Positioning the community to acquire senior government infrastructure grants is another factor behind establishing an active transportation plan in Cedar.

Comprehensive information on the RDN’s efforts thus far to establish an active transportation plan in Cedar can be found here.

An online survey is available to be filled out by Monday, Dec. 1.

While not directly related to the Cedar active transportation effort, creating an ambitious pedestrian crossing between South Wellington and Cedar via a bridge spanning Nanaimo River remains in the planning stages.

Morden Colliery Regional Trail is an envisioned four kilometre trail between Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park in South Wellington and Hemer Provincial Park in Cedar.

A consistent flow of Cedar residents turned out for the Wednesday, Nov. 26 open house at Cedar Heritage Centre. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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