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The Georgia Greenway (Phase 2)

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What is the Georgia Greenway?

The Georgia Greenway is a proposed 3.1km active transportation corridor through Harewood that promotes greater pedestrian and cycling activity.  Once fully completed, it will link a number of key destinations across the community including schools, parks, sport fields, and commercial areas.

The Georgia Greenway will provide an easier alternative to the conventional bike lanes on Bruce Avenue and will be a more attractive route for families, children, seniors, and less experienced cyclists.

Phase 1 of the Georgia Greenway was officially opened for public use in April, 2019.  The opening event was part of the Nanaimo Earth Day 2019 celebrations.

For more information on Phase 1, check out the Project Page.

 

Phase 2 - Fall 2020

Phase 2 will expand the Georgia Greenway by creating a bike and pedestrian friendly “Slow Street” along Georgia Avenue from Eighth Street to Fourth Street:

  • The speed limit on Georgia Avenue will be lowered to 30 km/h. New speed limit signs will be added along Georgia Avenue.
  • Stop signs will be switched at Nova Street & Georgia Ave so that those travelling on Georgia Avenue have the right of way. More can be found out about this in the "Background" tab. 
  • Two temporary traffic circles will be added. Traffic circles are meant to slow down vehicle traffic (also called “traffic calming”). These will be made using recycled tractor tires, paint, and signs. By using temporary, lower cost materials, we are able to try out this type of traffic calming to make sure it is a good fit before creating permanent traffic circles.
  • Bicycle “sharrows” will be added. Sharrows are painted on the road using a stencil, and are meant to show that the road needs to be shared with bicycles.
  • New cyclist-activated signal buttons will be added to the existing pedestrian signal at the intersection of Fifth Street and Georgia Avenue.

 

Stay Connected

If you have questions, comments or concerns about Georgia Greenway Phase 2, please let us know!

By email: EngineeringInfo@nanaimo.ca

By phone: 250-755-4460, Extension 4230

By mail: Engineering Department, 455 Wallace Street, Nanaimo BC, V9R 5J6


  • Progress

    Phase 2 is underway! On November 25th 2020, new stop signs will be installed on Nova to make a new 4-way stop. This is the first step towards switching the two-way stop from Georgia to Nova. In a few weeks, people travelling on Georgia Avenue will have the right-of-way. 

     

     

     

  • Documents

    Harewood Neighbourhood Plan

    Nanaimo Transportation Master Plan 

    July 2020 Staff Report

  • Details

    The Big Picture shows the scope of the entire project, including what parts belong to which phases. 

    The image below shows the location the reduced speed limit, new traffic circle and intersection improvements for the Fifth St and Georgia Ave intersection.

    The image below shows the improvements from Fifth St to Sixth St. 

    The image below shows the new traffic circle and reduced speed limit from Seventh St to Eighth St.

  • Background

    Slow Street

    Georgia Avenue is now being made in a Slow Street. A Slow Street has minimal traffic volume and speed so that people can walk, wheel, and bike safely.

    Why a Slow Street on Georgia Avenue?

    The Georgia Greenway project is meant to implement directives from the 2013 Harewood Neighbourhood Plan, the Nanaimo Transportation Master Plan, and the Official Community Plan. Phase 1 of the Georgia Greenway (Harewood Centennial Park) was finished in 2019. Phase 2 was not originally planned to start this year. However, when the Covid 19 pandemic began, Nanaimo City Council voted to create a Slow Street on Georgia Avenue starting immediately, to make it easier for people to stay active and choose walking, wheeling and cycling during this challenging time. 

    How is the City making the Slow Street happen? 

    The City has been able to make this project happen by reallocating funds from other projects, and by using low-cost, temporary "tactical urbanism" style improvements. This allows the City to make projects happen more quickly, and to test out measures to make sure they are a good fit before investing in making them permanent. 

    All of the improvements proposed for Georgia Avenue this year can be built upon in the future.


    Stop Sign Reversal at Georgia Avenue and Nova Street 

    Currently there are stop signs placed along Georgia Ave at the intersection of Georgia and Nova. The stop signs are going to be switched such that they are placed along Nova Ave instead. This will improve flow along Georgia Ave and give priority to pedestrians and cyclists. The simple graphic below demonstrates this change.

    To help ease the transition for road users, the intersection will go from only having stop signs along Georgia Ave, to becoming a four-way stop (stop signs on both Georgia Ave and Nova St) for two weeks, and then finally to only having stop signs along Nova St.  

     

     

    Complete Streets and Georgia Greenway

    Complete Streets refers to transportation guidelines and design approaches that support safe and comfortable travel for users of all ages and abilities, regardless of their mode of transportation. The Georgia Greenway supports Complete Streets guidelines. While Phase 1 was mostly an off street multi-use trailway, Phase 2 will be much more involved with existing streets and therefore takes Complete Streets guidelines more strongly into account. Want to know more about Complete Streets and how the City of Nanaimo is working to develop our own Complete Streets Guidelines?  Check out the project web page at www.nanaimo.ca/goto/CompleteStreets.

     

    Original Vision

    The proposed active transportation route was first identified in the 2013 Harewood Neighbourhood Plan.  The Neighbourhood Plan includes an Urban Design Framework that is intended to provide overall direction and help guide future development within Harewood. The neighbourhood bikeway is one of the key strategies identified in the plan. The plan states that: 

     

    The Georgia Greenway is also supported by the Nanaimo Transportation Master Plan, the Harewood Centennial Park Master Plan, and the Official Community Plan.

    Our goal is to create a comfortable experience for users of all ages, abilities, and confidence level by incorporating a variety of pedestrian and cycling facilities such as multi-use pathways, traffic calmed local streets, and improved road crossings. Doing so has the benefit assisting in lowering vehicle speeds in the area making the neighbourhood more welcoming and comfortable for all users.

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