By Ian Holmes

New parking lot to address congestion woes at Mt. Benson trailhead

Oct 5, 2017 | 3:13 PM

NANAIMO — Vastly expanded parking is on the way to alleviate traffic problems at one of Nanaimo’s most popular recreation destinations.

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is spending $580,000 to buy property (2761 Benson View Rd.) south of Witchcraft Lake to build between 92 and 126 parking stalls. The area is the main access point to Witchcraft Lake Regional Trail leading up Mt. Benson.

The RDN’s manager of parks services Wendy Marshall told NanaimoNewsNOW the Mount Benson Regional Park area has exploded in popularity over the last several years, leading to increased congestion concerns from area residents.

“Finding a piece that we can have future expansion on is very critical,” Marshall said. “We’re really happy to have found a solution to this problem.”

Marshall said the newly acquired land will see a home demolished and a parking lot built off-road, which she called a key safety factor.

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“We don’t want them (trail users) walking within traffic and it gets vehicles off the road so that it’s safe for emergency vehicles and people who live on Benson View Rd. so they can have access to their properties.”

Marshall said the 24 roadside parking spots installed several years ago at the trailhead near the end of Benson View regularly overflow.

RDN trail counter data shows 8,000 users accessed Witchcraft Lake Regional Trail between June and August of this year.

Marshall said the next step will be meeting with local residents.

“Let them know what’s happening, hear feedback concerns, ideas, what they’d like to see as we move forward. We’ll then move forward into some detailed design plans and get some feedback on those.”

Marshall said the number of new parking stalls will depend on use of an undeveloped provincial government road corridor on the backside of Witchcraft Lake.

She hoped the new parking lot could be in place by late next year. Construction costs for the parking lot are not known at this time.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes