New bike-pump track opening in Cedar
Published 3:25 pm Thursday, August 13, 2026
The second bike-pump track in the Nanaimo area is set to open.
Richard Daykin, Regional District of Nanaimo’s manager of parks services, told the joint inter-jurisdictional Special District 68 Sports Field and Recreation Committee at a recent meeting that there will be a grand opening of the new track, located in Cedar Community Park, on Aug. 31.
He said the approximately $200,000 project is being funded entirely by the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation.
Stevie Smith was a professional cyclist from the Nanaimo area who died tragically in 2016.
As part of its mandate, the non-profit foundation builds world-class community cycling infrastructure, including bike-pump tracks.
The only other park with a bike-pump track in the area is Beban Park’s Stevie Smith Community Bike Park, named in recognition of the cyclist, which opened in 2017.
“Everyone is very excited to have a new bike-pump track,” Daykin told the committee.
“We will have a kiosk there with the rule sign as part of the RDN’s’ contribution to the new bike-pump track. It will be named shortly, and there will be a naming process coming forward to our electoral area’s parks, recreation and culture committee in September.”
Daykin also told the committee that work on four pickleball courts, also in Cedar Community Park, which is adjacent to Cedar Community Secondary School, is nearing completion.
He said the pickle-ball courts, which will be tournament size, are being constructed where the park’s tennis courts were located, and work on them is expected to be completed by the start of the school year.
“The school will be accessing the courts from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during school days, and then after school, weekends, statutory holidays and July and August, they will be available for the community,” Daykin said.
“The pickleball world is looking forward to seeing that come forward.”
Nanaimo city councillor Ian Thorpe, who is chair of the committee, said to laughter that he didn’t think the committee could get through a meeting without talking about pickleball.
“So thanks so much for that,” he said to Daykin.
robert.barron@nanaimobulletin.com