Nanaimo is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, which brings growing pressure on the mobility system to provide safe, convenient, and affordable transportation to meet the community's needs.
The purpose of this Citywide Parking Review is to review parking regulations to better align with City Plan and the community's goals and values. This will include changes to the City's approach to off-street parking and curbside management, which will result in amendments to the Off-Street Parking Regulations Bylaw, Traffic and Highway Regulation Bylaw and Crossing Control Bylaw.
During the engagement period we sought community input on the following topics:
- Off-street parking requirements
- Vehicle parking (electric vehicles, infrastructure, access, accessible spaces, commercial and passenger loading zones, etc.)
- Bicycle and E-mobility facilities
- On-street and off-street parking supply
- Distribution of curb space (sidewalk, trees and green space, transit stop infrastructure, on-street parking, public amenities, etc.)
- Advancing sustainable transportation
For more detailed information please see the documents on the right.
At the October 31, 2025 Governance and Priorities Committee meeting staff presented draft recommended bylaw changes. The meeting video is available at this link: October 31, 2025 - GPC. At the November 17, 2025 Council meeting Council passed the follow motions:
"It was moved and seconded that the Governance and Priorities Committee recommend that Council endorse all recommendations contained in the Nanaimo Parking Review and Bylaw Recommendations and Actions Report, prepared by Urban Systems, dated October 2025, except recommendations VPS-2, VPS-3 and TDM-1. The motion carried unanimously."
"It was moved and seconded that the Governance and Priorities Committee recommend to Council that VPS-2 (to introduce a maximum number of parking spaces permitted for developments in the Primary and Secondary Urban Centres) be incorporated as part of the upcoming bylaw update. The motion carried unanimously."
"It was moved and seconded that the Governance and Priorities Committee recommend to Council that VPS-3 (to allow for a 25% reduction in required parking within 200m of bus frequent transit and bus rapid transit corridors with additional transit-specific Transportation Demand Management required proposed for multi[1]family residential uses) be incorporated as part of the upcoming bylaw update. The motion carried unanimously."
"It was moved and seconded that the Governance and Priorities Committee recommend to Council that TDM-1 (to require baseline Transportation Demand Management measures be provided by developments of a defined size and/or type) be incorporated as part of the upcoming bylaw update. The motion carried unanimously."
"It was moved and seconded that the Governance and Priorities Committee recommend that Council direct Staff to prepare the necessary bylaw amendments and policy updates to implement all endorsed recommendations. The motion carried unanimously."
Staff are now preparing updates to the Off-Street Parking Regulation Bylaw, which will be presented to Council in spring 2026.
