QUALICUM BEACH — A project many years in the making has at last come to fruition in Qualicum Beach.
The Town officially unveiled its highly anticipated waterfront walkway and viewing platform adjacent to the roundabout on Memorial Ave./Hwy 19A during a highly attended ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 3.
“This is a great day for Qualicum Beach,” mayor Teunis Westbroek told NanaimoNewsNOW at the afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Saying the feature greatly enhances the roundabout which opened nearly three years ago, Westbroek said the vision of better connecting uptown Qualicum Beach with their prized waterfront has been achieved.
He said their primary waterfront area is now a much safer place, particularly for non-vehicular users.
“It’s also about slowing traffic down and safe passage for pedestrians,” Westbroek said.
The walkway/viewing platform feature provides ample room for people to walk by or spend time enjoying the ocean views. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)Westbroek credited successive to members of Town Council, Town staff, Qualicum First Nation, the senior levels of government and many community partners for making the project happen.
“It took time, it started back in 2017 with the council of the day, but usually good things take time — it was well planned, well organized and well-funded, we got good funding support from the province and federal government.”
Mayor Westbroek called the roundabout project and accompanied walkway/viewing platform a substantial addition to the community (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)Nearly two-thirds of the roughly $3 million dollar project was covered by senior government grants, according to the Town.
Other features of the new walkway project include a new passageway beneath the roundabout for Beach Creek and a refurbished foreshore area with native plants.
The Town reports street furniture and interpretive signage will be added.
A refurbished Beach Creek Estuary includes numerous native plants (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)Luke Sales, the Town’s director of planning, said the end product resulted exactly how he hoped.
He said slowing down highway traffic with the roundabout combined with the walkway feature is a transformative change for the community.
“It’s really multimodal, it’s a place for people to people, people to walk and enjoy themselves. It’s a very distinct transition and this is the point where it’s being made with this central roundabout.”
Sales noted future plans include creating additional nearby parallel parking along Hwy.19 to build on parking capacity increases in recent years.
To cap off the project, an eye-catching piece of contemporary Coast Salish art designed by Qualicum First Nation’s (QFN) Jesse Recalma was recently installed in the middle of the roundabout.
Telling the large assembled crowd that the area was once a significant village site for QFN members, Recalma said it’s an honour having artwork he designed recently installed in the middle of the roundabout.
“It feels really important to see how we can have our images up in public like this. For so long it wasn’t something that we were permitted to do and now here we stand and here this piece stands,” Recalma said.
Designed by Jesse Recalma and manufactured by Parksville based Wellington Foundry, the art piece is outfitted with evolving themes of lights. (Town of Qualicum Beach)
QFN chief Michael Recalma addresses the crowd, as Coast Salish artist Jesse Recalma looks on while holding his son Tayash (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)
About 150 people gathered for the official opening of the waterfront walkway/viewing platform at the base of Memorial Ave. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.
Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes
