Mount Benson Regional Park - Parking Infrastructure Project

The project webpage will be archived in January 2021. If you wish to access the page after this time, please visit https://www.getinvolved.rdn.ca/mt-b-parking

At the regular RDN Board meeting held November 12, 2019 the following decision was passed by the Regional Board:

That the existing roadside parking lot on Benson View Road and the floating boardwalk at Witchcraft Lake be permanently decommissioned.

Work is expected to be completed by the end of January (weather permitting). Stalker Excavating Ltd. has been awarded the work to remove the floating boardwalk, decommission the trail between the boardwalk and parking area, and decommission the road side parking along Benson View Road.

The RDN held a License of Occupation with the City of Nanaimo and a Permit with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to install and maintain the Witchcraft Lake trail head and parking area as the only formal public access point to Mount Benson Regional Park. Now, the new parking lot and trail head at 2761 Benson View Road serve as the primary access point to Mount Benson Regional Park and the surrounding recreational trails. This land was purchased by the RDN in early 2018 with the intent to provide parking and an improved trail head for the growing number of recreationalists visiting the Mount Benson area.

On November 12, 2019 the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) Board of Directors unanimously voted to decommission the roadside parking lot and floating boardwalk located at Witchcraft Lake at 2905 Benson View Rd, Nanaimo BC.

This decision follows the completion of the newly built parking lot at Mount Benson Regional Park located approximately 500m from the 24 stalls roadside parking lot slated to be decommissioned.

The new parking lot for Mount Benson Regional Park opened in June 2019 and offers 87 paved parking stalls, a drop off zone for buses, a new trailhead and other improved facilities including kiosk maps, bear proof garbage cans and an accessible vault toilet. The new parking lot also includes an overflow gravel parking lot that can accommodate an additional 30-35 vehicles, bringing the total capacity of the parking lot to over 120 vehicles.

In addition, a new trail connection has been built from the new parking area to access the west side of Witchcraft Lake.

The next steps for RDN parks will be to review a transition plan with the City of Nanaimo (who owns the lands surrounding Witchcraft Lake) and with the Ministry of Transportation who has jurisdiction on the linear 24 stall roadside parking lot. The work to decommission the parking and floating boardwalk should start this winter with an estimated completion date being in Spring 2020.

The Mt. Benson Regional Park trailhead and main entrance can be easily accessed through the new parking lot located at 2761 Benson View Road, Nanaimo BC. The gates at the new parking lot will be open from 5 am – 11 pm in the summer months and 5 am – 8 pm in the winter months.

The new Mount Benson parking lot and a new trail that leads from the parking lot to the mountain are now complete and open for public use.

Overlooking the City of Nanaimo, the 211-hectare Mount Benson Regional Park features rough mountainous terrain and panoramic views. The pre-existing parking lot at Witchcraft Lake provided insufficient capacity to meet the needs of increased patronage; therefore, in consultation with the public, property for the new parking lot was acquired in 2018, and construction began in the spring of 2019.

“The growth and maintenance of our parks and trails systems calls for long-term and sustainable servicing,” said Chair Ian Thorpe. “The new parking lot and trail at Mount Benson Regional Park is designed to meet rising demands, and this infrastructure will provide visitors with ample parking and safe access to one of our regions treasured landmarks.”

For more information about Mount Benson Regional Park, please visit rdn.bc.ca/mount-benson-regional-park.

The new Mount Benson parking lot will be open for use in mid-June 2019. The new trail that leads from the parking lot to the mountain will be completed by the end of June. A detour to the existing trail will be provided along Harrow Road, and temporary signage will direct visitors to the detour.

To direct visitors to the new parking lot and trail head, signs will be installed along the road and at the existing parking lot. A news release will be sent out in the last week of June, and information will be posted on social media and the RDN website. Updates on social media will continue throughout the summer to direct people to the new parking lot.

As directed by the Regional Board, the existing parking lot and floating boardwalk will remain open, and a report will be prepared for the Board in the summer of 2020 regarding the use of the site. The use of both parking areas will be monitored through trail counter data and site visits by staff and contractors.

The gates at the new parking lot will be open from 5 am – 11 pm in the summer months and 5 am – 8 pm in the winter months.

At their regular meeting, January 22, 2019, the Regional District of Nanaimo Board approved the tender award for the Mount Benson parking lot project to Milestone Equipment Contracting Inc. for a value of $526,758.15 (plus GST).

Project construction is expected to begin in the next few weeks and run through to the end of May 2019.

The parking lot design provides for approximately 80 paved stalls and an additional 25 gravel overflow spaces. It will be able to accommodate the turning radius of a bus and emergency service vehicles. A new trail head, complete with vault toilet, garbage and recycling, bike rack, and kiosk sign/map will be located in the southwest corner of the new parking lot. Trail improvements are planned to link the new trail head to the existing trail network on the slopes of Mount Benson.

Check back here for updates at the project moves forward!

With approvals from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in place, the Mount Benson parking lot project is open for Tender. The invitation to tender can be found here, with closing time of 2:00pm December 5^th, 2018.

The design includes over 75 parking spaces, plus an additional 25 overflow spots. A new trailhead with kiosk map, garbage/recycling and vault toilet is also included in the design. Following review and approval of the successful bid by the Regional Board, project construction could begin as early as February 2019.

The future of the existing parking area at Witchcraft Lake was discussed by the Regional Board at their regular meeting on May 22, 2018. No decision was made at this meeting and the topic was deferred to the next Regional Parks and Trails Committee meeting this fall.

The meeting's agenda and minutes (when available) can be found here:

https://www.rdn.bc.ca/events/2018-5-22/

The push to have the new parking lot open by the end of 2018 has been reconsidered and the project timeline has been extended to summer 2019. Factors related to this include:

• the need to obtain permits and approvals from other levels of government

• the benefit of tendering the project in the fall/winter when contractor availability is greater and more competitive bids can be expected

• the practicality of beginning construction in the springtime as opposed to the fall.

As a reminder, please obey posted signage at the existing Witchcraft Lake parking lot, do not litter and please be respectful of surrounding neighbours.

Consider meeting your hiking group off-site and carpooling to the trailhead to help reduce traffic congestion on Benson View Road. Thank you for your cooperation!