The construction of the new freeway on Vancouver Island has significantly changed travel patterns through the City of Nanaimo. An outdated visitor information centre located on the ‘old’ Island highway was being bypassed by visitors not driving directly into Nanaimo. Nanaimo is a favorite RV Destination, and building a new centre on the main highway route will enable Nanaimo to capture traffic which might otherwise have bypassed the community. The new 896 square foot glass walled visitor information kiosk is located at an existing rest area at Northfield Road. The covered picnic area and washrooms onsite were creatively converted into a compact, attractive visitor services facility. The 16 existing single vehicle spots were converted into 8 RV parking spots, and 23 new single vehicle spots were added. An additional 100 m of new Parkway Trail was constructed to replace the portion used for the project and a dog run area was created. Completed in 2015, the new location had already seen nearly double the number of visitors in 2013 at the new visitor information kiosk than in the previous location.
We work in reciprocal relationships with coastal communities across the ancestral territories of the Kwak̓wala, Nuučaan̓uɫ, Éy7á7juuthem, Ligwilda'xw, Pəntl'áč, She shashishalhem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Hul’q’umi’num’, diitiidʔaatx̣, SENĆOŦEN, Lekwungen, and T’Sou-ke speaking peoples.