A decision by the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) to give itself the authority to regulate sidewalks and roadside trails was greeted with enthusiasm by meeting attendees at Tuesday’s Parks and Open Spaces Advisory Committee (POSAC) meeting at the WI Hall.

POSAC member Randy Young noted that the Gabriola Lands and Trails Trust (GaLTT) had worked especially hard to establish a roadside trail through the tunnel on North Road. He said the proposed trail received approval from POSAC, the Local Trust Committee, and the RDN, only to be turned down by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI). “If the RDN (is able to be) responsible for trails and sidewalks on this island that’s a great step forward”, he said.

Regional Director Howard Houle said: “This would be a change that would allow us to have control over the approval of various projects”. He said the RDN would not necessarily be building the trails, just approving them. He said, for example, a trail proposed from McDonald Road to Peterson would be built by GaLTT.