DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: A sense of purpose is powerful motivation” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in November 2022

Note to Reader:

Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart in British Columbia: The Series vision. The edition published on November 1, 2022 is the story behind the story of how fixing a traffic problem at a major intersection morphed into a signature environmental and economic development project. This happened because the City of Nanaimo has a culture of commitment to community, risk-taking and innovation.

“The City of Nanaimo has a culture of commitment to community, risk-taking and innovation. But you really see the effect of good governance on the willingness to take risks.” – Bill Sims

The Midtown Gateway Project in the City of Nanaimo is transforming a legacy brownfield site impacted by past industrial activity into a revitalized neighbourhood gateway. It features new complete street transportation corridors, a restored and naturalized wetland with public walking trails, and enhanced access to the city’s premier recreation complex – Beban Park.

There are two stories behind this story

One is the technical story about how fixing a traffic problem morphed into a signature environmental and economic development project that achieved multiple beneficial outcomes. Even more compelling, however, is the story of the corporate culture within the City of Nanaimo which made the project possible.

There are several dimensions to the “story behind the story” of the corporate culture. First, the organization has historically embraced risk-taking because the guiding philosophy is “let’s do it right”. Secondly, there is the enduring resiliency of the organization.

Midtown Gateway Project

Bowen Road is a heavily used north-south corridor that connects downtown Nanaimo with central and north Nanaimo. After the Nanaimo Parkway (Island Highway) was constructed in 1997, the intersection of Bowen and Northfield soon became the busiest city-owned intersection. People use Northfield to get to and from the Nanaimo Parkway. The result is major traffic congestion.

The Midtown Gateway Project evolved from trying to solve a traffic problem at a busy intersection to cleaning up a legacy contaminated site from the coal mining era. A culture of risk taking has enabled the City of Nanaimo to resolve the traffic problem, restore a legacy brownfield, create a natural asset, open up a desirable area for a $70 million signature development, and recover its upfront costs.

TO LEARN MORE:

To read the complete story published on November 1st, 2022, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: A sense of purpose is powerful motivation.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/10/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_City-of-Nanaimo_2022.pdf