Residents of Qualicum Beach and Columbia Beach can look forward to a new community transit route this September.
Daniel Pearce, acting transportation and emergency services director for the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) presented at the Qualicum Beach committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday (March 15) on the proposed transit routes in town.
In October, the RDN held public engagement sessions and a survey for residents about two proposed routes, the 98 Qualicum Beach and the 95 Columbia Beach.
During the public input, Pearce said people did want to see the routing covering a good majority of the residential networks. From there, he said, they honed in on the 98 and 95 routes.
Pearce said they would plan to have bus stops anywhere from 200 to 300 metres apart, depending on geography.
Pearce said from there they would send the information to Qualicum Beach town staff for a detailed analysis and hone in where bus stops need to be and, if so, where infrastructure should be placed such as shelters, benches and info signs.
While council seemed to be in favour of the new routes, Coun. Anne Skipsey asked why there wasn’t any service around Qualicum Beach Elementary School (QBES).
Pearce said they look at the markets and elementary schools do not have great ridership. Pearce add that while they can’t service the elementary school at the moment, in future years if buses are added they might be able to.
Coun. Bill Luchtmeijer said he feels if the RDN is changing the transit system, it’s missing three vital areas: QBES and the surrounding area; the tourism area along Highway 19A toward Laburnum Road; and the airport.
Luchtmeijer said the town relies on tourism as an economic driver and with all the lodges and RV parks further along the highway, it’s difficult for tourists to sometimes get into town.
“All of those things become issues that if we’re going to change the route,” Luchtmeijer said. “I would like to see it address some of the key areas we’re short on. Those three are very vital to the community.”
Pearce said tourism is a secondary market and, while transit has had established routes since the 1960s, they haven’t been successful in those market places.
“We do want to be realistic about which markets we’re focused on. We’re trying to focus on the shopper market,” Pearce said.
For more information on the routes, people can visit here.
Active Transportation Plan meeting
At the next Official Community Plan (OCP) Working Group meeting there will be a presentation and discussion on the completed Active Transportation Plan and related changes recommended for the draft OCP.
The meeting is for the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) Electoral Area H (Shaw Hill, Qualicum Bay, Deep Bay, Bowser, Spider Lake and Horne Lake). The meeting is Wednesday, March 22 from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Lighthouse Community Hall (240 lions Way, Qualicum Bay).
The working group meetings are open to the public. OCP office hours continue on Tuesdays from 9:15 a.m. - 12 p.m. upstairs at Magnolia Court.
The Active Transportation Plan was written by Alta Planning + Design, and aims to capture community input and priorities identified through two community meetings, a survey and online WikiMap, as well as existing plans and policies of the RDN such as Parks and Trails plans, the OCP and the Bowser Village Plan.
— Submitted by the RDN