Filming Continuous Sidewalks and Bike Paths in Nanaimo with Nic Laporte
Metral Drive, and the engineering standards behind it, remains a highlight project for me and for ISL and the others that worked on it. It’s been a few years now, but it’s still one of the best examples of continuous sidewalks and bike paths in North America. Chatting with Nic in Eindhoven during our Lessons from the Dutch video, I was keen for him to experience Metral Drive for himself…
On the ride, we had Jamie Rose (below right), the Manager of Transportation for the City of Nanaimo leading the way and providing insights into the various projects we encountered and Mike Elliott, ISL’s Mid-Island Lead.
The ISL Brompton G-Line folding bikes proved super convenient, them both folding up into the car for the trip over, storing away easily overnight, getting us up and down the various grades in Nanaimo far better than my little 2-speed can, and carrying camera equipment around on the tour… I love these bikes and the utility they provide!
I only took a few photos, as the point of the trip was really for Nic to film and do his thing… But here he is approaching the stop controlled protected intersection of Metral and Turner…
And further north… The signalized protected intersection of Metral and Enterprise…
But you’re really here for the video… So here is Nic’s take on Nanaimo…
Nic’s closing words were perfect…
“When I left the Netherlands on my last trip, I said we can do this in North America, and now, in Nanaimo of all places, they’ve gone and proved it.”
The YouTube comments section can be an interesting place, but it’s been great to read some of the early comments…
“What an amazing positive change, seeing continuous sidewalks in American style colors/materials is blowing my mind and gives me lots of hope.”
“As a Dutch person this really makes me happy. Keep up the good work!”
“Beautiful transformation.”
“My parents live out in Parksville so I tried this route about two months ago. This bike route was awesome!! Literally the best bike path I’ve seen outside Europe. I really think this can get more people moving by means other than car because it’s just so safe.”
“Very nicely done! As a Dutchman I would feel right at home there.”
“What a great improvement over default North American infrastructure. Some area's could almost be in The Netherlands…”
And this one maybe sums it up…
“Kudos to Nanaimo!”
Nanaimo wasn’t the only stop on this trip to the Island… Sticking with the Dutch theme… If there’s one place that’s getting close to Dutch levels of connectivity, it’s Victoria…