Closed no more! Majority of Commercial Street reopen following months-long construction

Steven Johns (second from left) lowers one of the bollards, officially reopening Commercial Street. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

Commercial Street has unveiled a new look as the first phase of downtown street upgrades comes to a close.

Phase one of construction started in September of 2024, with parts of Commercial Street blocked off. Street-side parking was temporarily reduced while businesses were still accessible via sidewalks.

The first of five phases, construction spanned from Wharf St. to Church St. on upgrading the subsurface and streetscape of Commercial. 

This phase was scheduled to be completed by the end of May or early June of this year, but after some significant setbacks, including the discovery of a mine shaft under the Bastion and Commercial streets intersection, the timeline was pushed back.

Now, on Thursday, July 24, the City of Nanaimo is finally reopening the majority of the street, announcing the near completion of the first phase of the project.

Downtown business owners, city staff, members of Nanaimo City Council, and the local MLA all came together to drop the bollards, officially reopening the street for vehicle traffic.

Mayor of Nanaimo, Leonard Krog, told the crowd that this project’s objective is to re-establish downtown as a destination and enhance the public space along the street for the public and retailers. 

“This is still a good place to be, a safe place to live, and a wonderful city that has its eye in the future with its respect for the past, reflected in all that we do to preserve the history of this community,” Krog said. “But reflected in the positive impact of all the investments that we as council and the City of Nanaimo are making on your behalves to make this and continue it to be the most wonderful downtown in British Columbia.”

While some final touches still need to be completed on the service area of the street, the new upgrades include new flush curbs, widened sidewalks, greenery, lighting elements, and upgraded underground infrastructure that was at the end of its life.

Public artwork was also added to the area, including a new rainbow square featuring the rainbow and colours of the progress pride flag at the Commercial Street and Bastion Street intersection

Steven Johns, with the Downtown Business Association, and owner of Red Shelf Decor, also spoke to the crowd, saying the last 11 months of the construction have been hard for businesses downtown.

“But we're near the end of the marathon, and I have run a lot of marathons, and those last 500 meters are the hardest, and that's what we're running right now,” Johns said. “Today is the finish line, and I think we have to remember that we're all human and we've done what everyone has done the best they can.”

After the speeches, CHLY spoke with Johns about the end of construction, which he said is a long time coming.

“I think the most exciting part is that we can just see the finish line, and that businesses can get back to normal. Many businesses have thrived through this last year, and many have just survived,” he said. “But I think the key is now we can put the negativity, the construction, the blue gates all behind us, and we can move on, and we can embrace we've got a summer that is one of the most beautiful summers we've ever had in western Canada.”

As a business owner of one of the stores right in the middle of the contraction, Johns said businesses can have ups and downs at any time, and the construction did add to hardships, but many stores came together to support each other during the time.

“One thing I love about Nanaimo, and I love about downtown, is we've all stuck together. We haven't always agreed, there've been moments where some business owners, [such as myself], we've disagreed, but we've been in it together. It really felt great to be able to have open conversations with other businesses,” he said. “There has been some negativity from outside people and outside sources, and you get that, you always get a little bit of that. I think today, there's no time and there's no space for negative energy. This is just such a beautiful day, and it just looks so beautiful.”

He said the City of Nanaimo has been very supportive of businesses downtown during the construction.

Johns said he hopes this new upgrade will wow people who haven't been downtown in a while and will encourage more people to explore the neighbourhood.

“So I'm going to say it's been a ride, but I'm so excited,” Johns said. “I'm excited for tonight, for the night market, I'm excited for tomorrow and the next day. It's only going to get better and better.”

CHLY also spoke with James Knight, capital project management specialist with the City of Nanaimo and project manager for the Design Commercial Street project.

He said it is an exciting day for the first phase of the construction to come to a close.

“I have always been a strong supporter of the project, which helps a lot when you're working on a project. So, the goals of the project are very close to my heart. I’m really, really excited–really excited for the business owners that are down here, that have been kind of weathering the inconveniences, to say the least, of construction,” Knight said. “So really happy to see them getting their street back and getting people back downtown. I'm excited that we're nearly finished, and I think it looks fantastic.”

He said this construction has been a bit of a challenge, having to work on older infrastructure, which pushed back the end date of the project. 

“It's really hard to know what to expect when you're working on a road that's over 150 years old. I think this is one of the first streets that was built in Nanaimo, so there are a lot of things that were not documented, which we kind of expected, but we didn't really expect the extent that we found,” he said. “We just had to work through things as they came up, and it was challenging, and it did extend our timelines, but they're dealt with now, and we don't have to, we don't have to worry about them in the near future anyway.”

In his position, it was Knight’s job to work and communicate with the downtown businesses. He said, for the most part, the owners have been very supportive of the project.

“Obviously, you know, with something like this, it doesn't always go as smoothly as it should,” Knight said. “But I think overall, all the businesses have been very patient, very supportive, very respectful, and we've worked through it together.”

Phase two of the project is scheduled to start in 2027, following the construction of the downtown transit exchange.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.