With the Quay to Quay pathway in Port Alberni nearly complete, city council gathered last week with city staff and residents for a walk along the waterfront.
Pedestrians and cyclists met at Harbour Quay on Monday, Sept. 23 and travelled along the waterfront pathway all the way to Victoria Quay. The "unofficial" opening of the pathway took place after several months of construction work by city staff and contractors.
City CAO Mike Fox said that the pathway is about "95 percent" complete. The trail is fully paved and safety signage has been installed, but there is still some wayfinding signage to be installed, as well as lighting. Fox says the city is working with Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations on some kilometre markings with artist renderings of salmon.
"This started off as just a walk with council, but there was a lot of public interest, so it's grown," said Fox on Sept. 23. "People are excited to get out and use it. The first thing we wanted to do was make sure the public can enjoy the amenity safely. Next, we want to put in wayfinding and other added features along the trail."
With the path nearly finished, Fox says it has come in "well under budget." Port Alberni Sharie Minions said this is an impressive achievement, considering the costs of construction and the high rate of inflation over the past few years.
"This was planned six years ago...and we are coming in 1.2 million under budget," she said. "I have to recognize the hard work of our contractors and our staff, who really made this path happen in an economical way. They were very creative and they looked for ways to save at every opportunity they could. We're very proud of where we've ended up today."
The topic of a waterfront walkway came up during Minions' first term as mayor. In 2020, the city officially applied for funding, then forged ahead with public engagement in 2021. In 2022, the city took over the former Somass Sawmill site, which allowed them to open up a portion of the waterfront for public access.
Minions acknowledged on Sept. 23 that it was "not the easiest path" for the city to get where it is today.
"When we came up with this idea, it was intended to be multi-use, all abilities and predominantly on the waterfront — as much waterfront as we could gain access to," said Minions. "I think that has been a guiding principle for this council and the last. We have this incredible asset for our community and we want people to be able to have access to it."
Since construction has finished on the pathway, Minions says she has been out on it "a lot" and has encountered plenty of people enjoying the new path. One person, she said, even compared the pathway to the False Creek seawall in Vancouver.
"It's so nice to see people viewing our waterfront that way," she said. "That's how I've always viewed the potential and it's so nice to let people out onto it so they can see that potential as well."
A grand opening for the path has not been set yet, but it is fully open and accessible to the public. Minions says there may be additional routes and tie-ins to other paths in the future, adding that the city has been in talks with Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nation about an extension to the Orange Bridge on Highway 4.
