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HomeNewsTerminal Avenue surveying about complete, plans for upgrades in conception stage

Terminal Avenue surveying about complete, plans for upgrades in conception stage

Within the past few weeks, Terminal Avenue has been subject to partial lane-closures while topographical surveys are created for future upgrades.

As the surveying finishes up, the City of Nanaimo is looking forward in its plan to update and upgrade the avenue. The city has reached out to residents, asking for their opinion on ‘The Hub,’ a part of the upgrades.

Bill Sims, General Manager of Engineering & Public Works for the City of Nanaimo, stated that when the town’s council was first elected, one of their mandates was to ‘deal with some of the opportunities for redevelopment in the downtown core.’

“That Jean Burns sites in that area is really obvious one. The old A&B sound building— which is the one with all the artwork on it— is another one, but the owners of that one are planning on doing some redevelopment,” said Sims. “So that ‘hole in the ground’ is ripe for and really in the forefront of council’s mind… Over the last couple of years we’ve been working to acquire the properties and to sort of begin to put that together. At the same time we’re doing this whole ‘mobility overview’ of downtown.”

The mobility overview includes the recent upgrades to Front Street, such as the bicycle lanes. Front Street is still waiting on cycle signals to be installed before it is complete. Albert street’s new bicycle lanes will also be part of the mobility overview. 

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The new transit exchange planned for Terminal Avenue is a large part of the mobility overview, and will house around ten busses at a time.

The exchange is planned to be a permanent home for the busses, and its temporary home on Front Street will be for other projects in the future.

Sims wanted to clarify that, “some people seem to have the misunderstanding that the city’s purchased the Jean Burns site and we’re gonna park buses there, which nothing could be further from the truth.” 

The city has also purchased multiple other buildings along Terminal Avenue for the development.

“So, along Terminal Avenue, sort of south of there where [the tattoo parlor and other building] are, is where we’re envisioning the transit exchange— or the potential transit exchange. The Jean Burns location would be good for a public plaza, might be good for… Who knows? A restaurant? We don’t have any set, hard, fast plans at this point that’s why we’re in public consultation.”

Sims states there is potential for Terminal Avenue to become a transit hub, and that the project will be working on underground infrastructure before focusing on the surface aesthetics.

When construction begins on the street, single-lane closures should be expected. Sims states that there’s a very low chance of any full street closures due to the avenue being a provincial highway, and that the city will look into doing night work in order to avoid interfering with commutes.

The first phase of the project is planned to complete in 2022.

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