Bowen Park trail and utility upgrades wrap up as Walk On winter challenge begins

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed February 7, 2022 8:00 AM

Summary

On Friday, February 4, 2022, Mayor and Council celebrated the completion of the Bowen Park Trailway and Utility Upgrades project and celebrated the kick off to Walk On, a winter fitness challenge.

When staff identified the need for sewer upgrades in 2018, Council recognized an opportunity to improve the safety, use and accessibility of the Bowen Park trail as well. The project began in April 2021, which includes a new, larger trunk sewer pipe installation, steep slope stabilization, trail widening and paving, trailway lighting installation, landscape restoration and tree plantings.

The completion of this project came just in time to kick off Parks, Recreation & Culture's Walk On winter wellness challenge. This challenge encourages residents to get outside and enjoy Nanaimo's mild winter weather, while tracking steps or distance, and then inputting their progress into an online form. Each Friday, progress will be collected and tallied and results will be posted on Mondays. This challenge started February 4 and runs until March 17, 2022. Participating residents can be entered to win weekly prizes and one lucky winner will be awarded the grand prize - a new pair of running shoes, courtesy of New Balance Nanaimo.

To learn more and to participate in the Walk On, visit www.nanaimo.ca/goto/Walk-On-Challenge. For more information on the Bowen Park Trailway and Utility Upgrades, visit www.nanaimo.ca/goto/BowenTrailUtility.

Link to Strategic Plan: This project supports asset management, sustainable growth and active transportation, which align with Council’s commitment to governance excellence and a livable, environmentally responsible community.

Key Points

The trunk sewer was approaching capacity and replacement was required to support future growth and ensure wastewater is transported in a safe and effective way. The Millstone Trunk services over 35% of the City's homes and businesses.
The Bowen Park trail improvements provide a safe alternative to cycling on Bowen Road and provide formalized connections to major destination hubs including downtown and the hospital area.
The Walk On winter wellness challenge encourages residents to stay active during the winter months.

Quotes

"We are so pleased to see this project completed. It looks fantastic and is already being enjoyed by the community. The sewer upgrades were necessary, but using this opportunity to increase connectivity, accessibility and safety was maximized. Staff and contractors did a wonderful job respecting the habitat of wildlife and limiting the impact to park users and the environment."

Leonard Krog

Mayor

City of Nanaimo

Quick Facts

A goal of the project was to avoid and minimize impacts to the environment. Reducing the number of tree removals was a critical consideration and guided the decision-making process.
The new multi-use trail is 4m wide, 1km in length, paved and has lighting for night time use.
172 trees (Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, and Big Leaf Maple), native shrubs and grasses have all been planted as part of the restoration works.

Images

Bowen Trail ribbon cutting (shoelace untying) ceremony

Contact:

For media enquiries, please contact

Communications

City of Nanaimo

250-754-4251

Media.Requests@nanaimo.ca

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