The City of Parksville is preparing for the third phase of its transportation master plan initiative.
The Canada Community Building Fund Community Works Fund contributed a total of $150,000 to the Transportation Master Plan initiative, with $62,900 allocated in 2023 and $87,100 in 2024, according to a news release by the city.
The first phase included data collection at major intersections within the city, traffic analysis and parking inventory, an open house, online survey, base conditions assessment, and local engagement meetings.
These activities were collected into a What We Heard report and a Base Conditions Assessment report which summarized the findings and helped to define the overall ambitions of the community to respond to identified challenges.
The second phase saw the development of a series of options (grouped into capital projects, near-term planning, quick progress, and policy and guidelines) which sought to respond to identified challenges in ways that support the overall objectives of the project and align with the desire for Parksville to be an active, accessible and safe community.
These ideas were presented to the community at the second open house on March 5 and combined with the results of an online survey, the feedback from the session helped the transportation master plan team refine the options and prepare initial recommendations.
The second online survey received more than 700 completed responses.
The second What We Heard report is now complete and available for review on Let’s Talk Parksville.
The city is preparing for a third public engagement session on Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
This final engagement will present the recommended projects and improvements across all modes of travel (auto, transit, walking, and cycling) with the goal of confirming with the community that the plan is capturing a balanced and practical approach to achieving the city’s mobility goals.
The city hopes for feedback on project priorities as well as any final thoughts on areas for future improvement.
There will be opportunities to provide this feedback at the open house and as part of a third online survey.
"We look forward to completing the third and final phase of the transportation master plan project which will finalize recommended projects with costs, funding sources, and plan for implementation," the release stated.
The final recommendations will be presented to council for consideration.
— NEWS Staff
