On Monday, Nanaimo city council voted to indefinitely postpone the decision to build a new $10.8 million boathouse and community centre in Long Lake’s Loudon Park after activists rallied to save 29 trees in the park that would have had to come down for its construction.
Another motion to send the project back to city staff passed which means staff can “dust off” previous plans and come back to council “with a revised budget and scope of work,” according to Bill Simms, the City of Nanaimo’s manager of engineering and public works.
The proposal that has been cancelled would have included boat storage, a training facility for athletes and a multi-purpose community space.
Currently, the Nanaimo Canoe and Kayak Club and the Nanaimo Rowing Club share a makeshift building in the park consisting of a set of washrooms built in 1967, a converted picnic shelter that was enclosed in 1987 and an old trailer that was installed in 1992.
The clubs and community members want to see a new facility that is safe and accessible and provides adequate storage for equipment. They also want to create a space that encourages community use.
“We want to have the community there and be able to offer better programming as the two clubs and engage people in recreation in this park, as it’s one of the few opportunities in that area to have a nice community space,” said Craig Rutherford, president of the Long Lake Flatwater Training Society.
Parent recalls daughter’s ‘life threatening’ accidents on Long Lake
Jennifer Mckenzie, whose children use the lake with the Nanaimo kayak and rowing clubs, told city council about two times her daughter flipped her boat and was plunged into the cold lake in the winter.
“Both events became life threatening, as there is no way to immediately warm up at the lake — no heated rooms or hot showers,” she said, adding that it took “an extra 20 minutes of exposure until I could get her home and out of wet clothes. Both times, I am sure she had hypothermia, as it took her several hours to warm up again properly.”
Mckenzie said athletes need a heated space where they can warm up immediately and have access to hot showers.
“The main thing is a safe, dry place for boats and athletes,” Rutherford said. “We want to see a general enhancement of the park and have it be more of a community space.”
Rutherford has been working for decades to get the facilities at the Nanaimo Rowing and Kayak Club in Loudon Park upgraded.
“The washrooms are quite old,” he told city council. “Everything’s quite run down.”
Rutherford said the boats, which are currently stored outside behind a fence, are exposed to sun, snow, hail and rain and boats have been damaged from falling tree branches.
In late November 2022, the club lost two vintage voyageur canoes that were stored outside to a fire after an unhoused person used them as a shelter and started a fire underneath them. Last winter, water got into one of the racing canoes and it cracked the bow of the boat.
“A big thing with us is we want to support the whole community in the park and make that park more viable, more active, [outside of] two or three months in the summer,” he said. “Generally, we’re the only users in the park other than a few people walking dogs. We would love to have more people in there more often taking part in programming and being a member of the community.”
After the meeting, Rutherford told The Discourse that having the project approved by city council only to see it reverse its decision was “obviously frustrating, because you want to see it done. It’s been a long road, but that’s also part of the process when working with the city.”
He also highlighted the lack of accessible facilities in the park, including the at docks.
Para athlete faces barriers with inaccessible space
Community member Gino Fournier has a daughter who was injured a year-and-a-half ago and now uses a powered wheelchair.
“One of her goals was to get back into pools and get back into rowing,” he told council. The Nanaimo Kayak Club helped her try out kayaking on Long Lake and last summer, she was able to enjoy paddling with friends and family who also joined the club.
Fournier said his daughter is now getting back into rowing with the club but faces barriers when it comes to using her wheelchair inside the building and using the equipment. He said he would “greatly appreciate” a new accessible building that has accessible equipment.
“We imagine members sharing a meal after practice, yoga classes overlooking the lake or local groups hosting workshops and celebrations,” said Denise Winter from the Nanaimo Canoe and Kayak club at the council meeting. “We envision a space that’s welcoming, accessible, inclusive and active year round.”
Save Loudon Park wants to see city expand park
Daneila Castell from the activist group Save Loudon Park, would like to see the city investigate options to purchase adjoining private property to add to the park.
The Save Loudon Park group opposed the project that the city approved because it would require removing 29 trees in the park.
“I think that there is a solution to this issue that will satisfy absolutely everyone, and that is for staff right now to look at expanding the size of the park,” she told The Discourse. She said she would like to see the city investigate if neighboring properties are available to be purchased by the city so the boathouse can be built on land that is already developed.
A search of Canada’s Multiple Listing Service database did not show any properties for sale near the park.
The Save Loudon Park group points to a scaled down alternative plan as another potential solution.
The alternative design referenced would be a pre-engineered steel warehouse building for boat storage and a light timber-framed building for the club space with a barrier-free public washroom. This option would be 40 per cent smaller than the current design and only address basic needs, per a staff report. Fifteen trees in the park would still have to be removed for the project.
But recreationists at Loudon Park say they need a facility that offers more.
“We need more than a shed for boats,” Denise Winter, board member of the Nanaimo Canoe and Kayak Club, told city council. “We need a warm indoor space where youth athletes can dry-land train during winter months and recreational paddlers can gather, extending their season beyond the summer. This would allow us to offer more consistent programming, build community year round and provide safer, more supportive conditions for everyone involved.”
Mayor says new boathouse is needed to encourage youth activity
During the council meeting, councillor Paul Manly said there is a need for a “major review of the park” due to the “competing visions” but he thinks there are options that will satisfy different needs of the community.
“I see the importance of that for youth in the community, and I do want to see a good facility built that meets the needs of the community and a growing community,” he said. “So let’s do this. Let’s get it right. Let’s make sure that the community is behind what we do.”
Councillor Ian Thorpe said he is still in favour of the original project and was encouraged to hear councillors speaking about the need to upgrade the facilities in the park.
“That’s very encouraging because in a previous vote, there was close to a majority that were only in favor of the tin can option and not doing anything really beyond that to improve the park itself.”
Councilor Janice Perino said she was still firmly in favour of the original plan that would include the boathouse as well as a “larger facility, to be able to serve the community year round.”
“I understand that is not necessarily what everyone wants in this community, but that’s where my vote will be,” she said.
Mayor Lenoard Krog commented on the contrast between older adults who want to save the trees in the park and the young athletes who were in the audience.
“I see a lot of young folks represented here,” he said. “No disrespect, I’m a senior myself, but there are two different views of this. I see this park and the boathouse and related facilities as necessary to the encouragement of our youth in our community, and that is important to me.”
