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Getting around Nanaimo B: walking, cycling and transit times

à portée’s map shows the trip on foot, by bike and by transit from every populated block in Nanaimo B to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, school, park and other everyday places. It is free, with no account.

residents in 2021
4,500
within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store
3%
of 1,000 communities for groceries on foot
845th

Open the Nanaimo B map

Municipal boundaries: Statistics Canada.

Travel times across Nanaimo B

Each block is coloured by the trip from it to the nearest place of the kind you pick, on foot, by bike or by transit. Move the map, or open it in à portée for any address and all 29 kinds of place.

Transit times are for a weekday at peak hours. A free plus account adds a mode and a time limit for each place, and transit at night on weekdays and at midday on Saturday and Sunday.

Getting around Nanaimo B

The share of Nanaimo B residents within a trip of each place, and the typical trip, by each way of getting there the free map offers.

PlaceOn footBy bikeBy transit, weekday morning peak
Grocery store3%over an hour26%typical 23 min3%over an hour
Pharmacy6%typical 59 min36%typical 20 min6%typical 58 min
Park52%typical 14 min92%typical 6 min52%typical 14 min
Elementary school3%over an hour27%typical 22 min3%over an hour

Cycling and transit follow the street network, hills included. A transit trip includes the walk to and from the stops, at the median departure of a weekday morning peak, and is never slower than walking the whole way. Within 15 minutes means under 16: times are rounded down to the whole minute.

Nanaimo B in numbers

3% of Nanaimo B residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 48% across British Columbia and 45% across Canada.

Residents within a walk of each place

Place10 min15 min20 min30 minTypical walk
Grocery store1%3%6%11%over an hour
Pharmacy4%6%9%18%59 min
Park38%52%61%76%14 min
Elementary school2%3%5%10%over an hour

Within a 15-minute walk, beside British Columbia and Canada

PlaceNanaimo BBritish ColumbiaCanadaRank among the 1,000 communities with a page
Grocery store3%48%45%845th of 1,000121st of 155 in British Columbia
Pharmacy6%48%51%794th of 1,000107th of 155 in British Columbia
Park52%86%82%586th of 1,000105th of 155 in British Columbia
Elementary school3%58%55%872nd of 1,000135th of 155 in British Columbia
Share of Nanaimo B residents within each minute’s walk of the nearest grocery store
0%25%50%75%100%0 min5 min10 min15 min20 min25 min30 min3%
0%25%50%75%100%0 min15 min30 min3%

Nanaimo B British Columbia

Communities of a similar size

The communities closest to Nanaimo B in population, and the share of their residents within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store. Communities are 2021 census subdivisions (cities, towns, counties and other municipalities), compared within their municipal boundaries.

CommunityResidentsGrocery within 15 min
North Okanagan C4,5111%
St. Stephen4,51011%
Nanaimo B4,5003%
Melville4,49353%
Neuville4,4754%

More places across the Nanaimo Regional District census division

The Nanaimo Regional District census division has 170,367 residents, 3% of them in Nanaimo B. The share of them within a 15-minute walk of more kinds of place:

  • Convenience store32%
  • Café35%
  • Bakery17%
  • Library8%
  • Playground48%
  • Childcare32%
  • Community centre18%
  • Clinic19%

Other communities in the Nanaimo Regional District area

Beside each community is the share of its residents who can reach a grocery store within a 15-minute walk.

Shares of 2021 residents of populated census blocks, on foot along the street network. How the walking times are computed

Travel times are our best estimates from open data published October 8, 2026 and can contain errors. Walking and cycling times are rounded down, so “within 15 minutes” means under 16. Check before an important decision, and tell us if something looks wrong.

Questions

Is Nanaimo B walkable?

One measure is the share of residents within a 15-minute walk of everyday places. In Nanaimo B, 3% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 48% across British Columbia and 45% across Canada. On this measure, Nanaimo B ranks 845th of 1,000 communities.

Can you get around Nanaimo B by bike?

By bike, 26% of Nanaimo B residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, 36% a pharmacy, 92% a park and 27% an elementary school. On foot, 3% are within 15 minutes of a grocery store. The typical trip to a grocery store takes 23 min by bike and over an hour on foot. Cycling times follow the street network, hills included; they don’t say whether a street is safe or comfortable to ride.

Does transit help you reach everyday places in Nanaimo B?

By transit at the weekday morning peak, 3% of Nanaimo B residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, against 3% on foot and 26% by bike. These times include the walk to and from the stops and the wait. The typical trip takes over an hour by transit and over an hour on foot. Where transit would be slower than walking, the time shown is the walk.

Is Nanaimo B a 15-minute city?

It depends on which everyday places you count. Within a 15-minute walk, 3% of residents reach a grocery store, 6% a pharmacy, 52% a park and 3% an elementary school. These figures count each place separately; open the map to see how many residents have all four within 15 minutes, for the places you choose.

How does Nanaimo B compare with communities of a similar size?

In Nanaimo B, 3% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store; in the communities closest to it in population, the share is 1% in North Okanagan C, 11% in St. Stephen, 53% in Melville and 4% in Neuville.

Where does this data come from?

Walking, cycling and transit times follow the street network, hills included, from each populated 2021 census block to the nearest place of each kind. Transit uses the operators’ published timetables at the weekday morning peak. Places come from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, with health care and schools checked against Statistics Canada’s open databases. Shares are weighted by 2021 population. Data published 8 October 2026. How the times are computed

Nanaimo B in brief

Province
British Columbia
Census division
Nanaimo Regional District
Census subdivision code
5921014
Residents in 2021
4,500
Data published
8 October 2026
Provinces: Natural Earth.

Sources: places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and the Overture Maps Foundation; census blocks, 2021 populations and municipal boundaries adapted from Statistics Canada under the Open Government Licence – Canada; transit times from the operators’ published timetables; elevation from Natural Resources Canada; province outlines from Natural Earth; links from Wikidata (CC0), Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Figures derived from OpenStreetMap are under the ODbL. Data sources and licences

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