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Linley Road will reopen in response to protest

Road closed due to new subdivision
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Protesters gather at Linley Road and Hammond Bay Road on July 6. The protesters were calling for the reopening of Linley Road, which had been closed due to a new subdivision. The City of Nanaimo says Linley Road will reopen in the near future. (NICHOLAS PESCOD/NEWS BULLETIN)

Linley Road will stay open after all.

Earlier this month, dozens of residents protested the permanent closure of a 30-metre stretch of Linley Road that connects onto Hammond Bay. The closure was due to a new residential subdivision at 105 Linley Rd.

The protest prompted city staff to meet with members of the Stephenson Point Neighbourhood Association.

Dale Lindsay, the city’s director of community development, told the News Bulletin that Linley Road will eventually reopen and will remain a part of the community.

“We will continue to allow for full movement at that intersection and allow for traffic related to the new development to have access directly to Linley Road,” he said.

Lindsay said Linley Road remains closed right now to allow for construction of the subdivision’s road infrastructure and won’t reopen for some time.

“I would expect that it will take a few weeks at least where they could have the road open on a temporary basis,” he said. “It could be a couple of months before we could get to that point.”

Bonita McKay, a nearby resident of Linley Road who had been at the protest, said she’s thrilled to learn that the road will eventually reopen for good.

“That is good news,” she said.

McKay said the residents are fine with a temporary closure, but were upset at the thought of the road closing for good as it would have meant traffic being forced down Miller Farm Road and other side streets to get to Hammond Bay Road.

“The most important thing for us was that it would be left open for the future,” she said.

reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com