By Dominic Abassi

City of Nanaimo to invest $1.5M over five years in pedestrian safety

Dec 22, 2017 | 4:27 PM

NANAIMO — The City is planning to steer significant money towards improving pedestrian safety in Nanaimo.

The 2018 budget, which has yet to receive final approval, includes the first installment of a planned $1.5 million investment over five years in a pedestrian safety program.

Acting manager of transportation Jamie Rose said it’s the first time in recent history the City has had a funding program specifically dedicated to pedestrian safety.

“It helps us by giving us the ability to get more projects completed so we can address any concerns in the community and fill in any gaps in the pedestrian network,” Rose told NanaimoNewsNOW. “Pedestrian movement throughout the city is something we hear a lot about and people are looking for better and more comfortable infrastructure.”

Rose was unsure if the $300,000 per year over the next five years was money added to the budget or redirected from another program.

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He said pedestrian mobility is one of the top priorities in the transportation master plan. Potential projects will include sidewalks, cross walks and pedestrian controlled lights.

Sidewalks, or a lack thereof, have been a topic of discussion several times at recent Council meetings.

During the budget eTown Hall meeting, a resident asked how it was decided which areas of town received new pedestrian infrastructure. Several councillors voiced frustration over inattention to areas they considered priorities or the fact it seemingly took too long for staff to react to concerns raised by councillors or the public.

“My frustration is when I see areas that this Council and the public considers a serious concern, I guess it’s hard for our corporation to react fast,” coun. Jim Kipp said.

Kipp said he wanted to see sidewalks built from “the schools out,” with a focus on areas where children are crossing streets or loading buses.

Coun. Bill Bestwick pointed to several areas of town where he saw a need for improved pedestrian amenities, including Boxwood Rd., Dufferin Cr. and Lost Lake Rd.

“The frustration people may sense or feel as a result of not getting stuff where and when they think it should be there is probably shared by the majority of people here (on council),” Bestwick said.

Rose said in the new year staff will review a priority list of projects and draft a report for Council asking for direction on where to spend the money.

Coun. Diane Brennan said while the current method for doling out pedestrian infrastructure needs tweaking, there needs to be balance between what councillors think and hear from the public and what staff are recommending based on their expertise. Otherwise, she said, there’s a lot of “political influence” that can happen.

“(It) opens us wide open for some sort of who knows the most councillors contest. If councillors get to decide this neighbourhood deserves a sidewalk and this one doesn’t, we could run into some trouble here.”

ICBC data showed four pedestrians were killed in 2016 in Nanaimo. Between 2009 and 2013, there was an average of 24 crashes involving pedestrians in Nanaimo, the most occurring at the Boundary Ave. and Dufferin Cr. intersection.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi