This week, Pedestrian Safety Day will remind everyone on the roads to pay attention and be safe, the COW meeting will be retired and construction on Harewood Roads comes close to completion!
Read on!
Head up, Phone Down, Be Seen!
Put on your sneakers and head on down to the corner of Commercial and Bastion Streets for Pedestrian Safety Day! The City, RCMP and ICBC will be there from 12 -1 pm handing out some reflective swag and talking safety. Find out more about Pedestrian Safety Day and get some great safety tips on the City website.
Did you know? In 1975, when the City amalgamated with its surrounding improvement districts, it suddenly had a lot of roadway without sidewalks. Today, Nanaimo collectively has 525 kms of roads and 400 kms of sidewalks. This year, the City added sidewalks on Dufferin Cresent, Jingle Pot Road and Northfield Road. The City also added multi-use trails on Georgia Avenue and Cypress Street.
With Hallowe'en on Thursday, make sure you keep an eye out for little ghouls, goblins and superheroes trick or treating their way through Nanaimo!
Empowering Women into Leadership Roles
City of Nanaimo Councillor, Erin Hemmens along with Equal Voice Central Vancouver Island have received a Toward Parity grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Department for Women and Gender Equality Canada. The grant will be used toward the Women Lead! program. The program's vision is to have an immediate impact on young women in the community inspiring them to consider possible careers in politics and/or toward towards leadership positions in other organizations or industries. Congratulations Councillor Hemmens!
Blustery Days
Last week, the wind picked up and leaves fell reminding us that winter storm season is on its way. Make sure you are prepared and know what to do and what the City does when winter weather hits Nanaimo.
Did you know? After you have raked the leaves in your yard, you can place them in the green cart! If you have too many for the green cart, place the extra aside until the next week's pick up.
Time for a Switch!
Have you signed up for the City of Nanaimo's Call Alert system? If so, it's time for a switch! Beginning on November 21, 2019, the City will be using a new call alert system. If you have already registered, we will be sending you a message using the old call alert system on November 21 to remind you sign up for the new system. Stay tuned for more information on the new system and how to register leading up to the switch.
Working Together to Improve Nanaimo's Parks
Did you hear? The Harewood neighbourhood is getting a new place to play! Last week, City officials and staff along with proud supporters from the Rotary Club of Nanaimo, broke ground to increase the recreational use of Cambie Park. This neighbourhood green space and site plan has been developed through the City's Partners in Parks (PIP) Program.
We want to thank the Harewood community for their support of the new park use. We also want to thank Rotary Club of Nanaimo President Janeane Cout and Director Wendy Pratt for all the support they and the Rotary has provided to making this park a reality!
Upcoming Community Events:
- Monday, October 28: GoByBike Celebration Station, 4 to 6 pm at the St. George St and E&N Trail intersection, hosted by Thrills & Skills Cycling Co.
- Wednesday, October 30: GoByBike Celebration Station, 2:30 to 5:30 pm at the E&N Trail at Brooks Landing, hosted by Project 529.
- Wednesday, October 30: GoByBike Celebration Station 4 to 6 pm, at the E&N Trail at Bowen Road, hosted by Eddyfi Technologies.
- Thursday, October 31: Musical Entertainment, 1:30 to 3 pm in the Bowen Park Auditorium. This week featuring Coombs Old Time Fiddlers.
- Sunday, November 3: Lions FREE Skate, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm in Frank Crane Arena
Find a complete list of City-related events at www.nanaimo.ca/goto/events.
For those of you participating in GoByBike and want to know where else you can cycle in the City, you can find our Cycle Map and plan your routes here,
Construction Updates
Good news for Harewood commuters! Road construction is beginning to wind down in the neighbourhood with the road work on Lambert and Seventh Street complete and others nearing completion in the coming week!
You can follow project progress and learn about detours that may affect your commute by going to our Current Construction Projects page.
Here is an overview of our current construction zones:
- Plan ahead if you are in the Hammond Bay area as the Hammond Bay Road widening and storm improvements project continues and delays should be expected. 24-hour single-lane traffic will be in place until mid-November.
- Bruce Avenue is closed between Third Street and Fourth Street until next week (weather permitting) as crews work on completing new asphalt paving, concrete sidewalks and street lighting.
- Bruce Avenue will be open this week between Dundas Street and Fifth Street as the development project at Bruce and Fifth completes road work.
- Seventh Street is open. However, construction on the pump station and forcemain project continues and is expected to be completed in November.
- Work on Haliburton Street will continue until spring 2020. Haliburton Street Southbound is closed this week (Monday to Friday, 24 hrs a day) with a detour in place. Next week, single lane alternating traffic will be in effect at times during working hours while work is ongoing. Some delays on Haliburton Street can be expected.
What's New
Last week, the Mayor and members of Council attended the 13th Annual State of the Island Economic Summit held in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. Held on October 23 and 24, the event featured a number of panel sessions, including a keynote presentations from B.C. Premier John Horgan. More information about the Summit can be found here: https://viea.ca/vi-economic-summit/.
This week, the Governance and Priorities Committee will discuss bylaws and the Committee of the Whole will be retired with its final meeting and will focus on community health, future plans for East Wellington Park and more. On Thursday, October 31, 2019 Mayor Krog will be heading to Victoria to meet with the Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Council recently adopted an updated Procedures Bylaw which means the Governance and Priorities Committee will officially take over from where the Committee of the Whole is leaving off. The new procedure bylaw comes into effect on November 1, 2019. Other changes include publishing times for the agenda and addendum have been moved to Wednesday afternoons and Friday afternoons respectfully. Also, those interested in appearing before Council to speak on an agenda item now have until 11:00 am the Friday before the meeting to submit a request to the Legislative Services Department instead of the Monday morning of the meetings.
Here’s at look at this week's Council and Committee meetings:
- Monday, October 28: Governance and Priorities Meeting at 1 pm in the Service and Resource Centre Boardroom, 411 Dunsmuir Street
- Monday, October 28: Committee of the Whole Meeting at 4:30 pm in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre's Shaw Auditorium
Visit the Meetings, Documents and Videos page on the City website to view upcoming meetings, agendas and past meeting videos or visit the Council Meeting Summaries page to read a recap of decisions made in previous meetings.
Here's a recap of City-related news from last week: