Banff Avenue �Pedestrian Zone

Presented by: Grant Canning

Today’s Discussion

Banff National Park

Town of Banff

• Service Centre for visitors to the NP
• Sole industry is tourism
• 3.5-4 million visitors a year
• Population of 8500 people
• All residents support the tourism industry directly or indirectly
• ‘Need To Reside’
• Incorporated as Town in 1990
• Prior to 1990 administered by Parks Canada
• Elected Town Council
• Pass bylaws, collect municipal taxes and make policy decisions but within the framework of being a national park community

Banff Avenue

History of Banff Avenue

Covid-19 Pandemic

• Covid-19 pandemic - March 2020
• Effect on the tourism industry was catastrophic
• Border closures, limits on travel, stay at home, restrictions on groups
• Banff economy was devastated
• No visitors / no second homes
• Hotels, restaurants and retail stores all closed

• Staff were laid off from work, many went home
• 80% unemployment during the height of the pandemic
• Provincial and municipal governments implemented many restrictions
• Mask requirements, social distancing, restrictions on capacity
• Restaurants and retail stores were limited to 50% capacity

​

Closure of Banff Avenue

• Close 100 and 200 blocks of Banff Avenue to vehicular traffic
• Implemented in summer of 2020
• Restaurants and retail stores were allowed to set up in the street with patios
• Increased floor space
• Employ staff members
• Improve visitor experience
• More pedestrianization
• Landscaping improvements

What happened?

• Positives
• Restaurants and retail stores recovered more quickly
• 67% approval
• Visitors enjoyed the experience
• 90% approval

​

• Negatives
• Commercialization of the public realm
• Closure of main arterial road
• Concern around emergency evacuation
• Pressure on side roads

What happened?

• Positives
• Restaurants and retail stores recovered more quickly
• 67% approval
• Visitors enjoyed the experience
• 90% approval

​

• Negatives
• Commercialization of the public realm
• Closure of main arterial road
• Concern around emergency evacuation
• Pressure on side roads

What happened?

• Positives
• Restaurants and stores recovered
• 67% approval
• Visitors enjoyed the experience
• 90% approval
• Negatives
• Commercialization of the public realm
• Closure of main arterial road
• Concern around emergency evacuation
• Pressure on side roads

​

What happened?

• Positives
• Restaurants and stores recovered
• 67% approval
• Visitors enjoyed the experience
• 90% approval
• Negatives
• Commercialization of the public realm
• Closure of main arterial road
• Concern around emergency evacuation
• Pressure on side roads

​

December 2023 – Decision to Make

• Banff Avenue had been closed to vehicular traffic since 2020
• Seasonal closure – mid-May to mid-October
• Temporary pandemic response – approved year by year
• With the pandemic over, should the pedestrian zone become a permanent seasonal closure?
• Closed in perpetuity – no longer require annual approval
• Has become very contentious
• Better understand the public? Research!

Public Input

• Mixed Methods Research Design (Creswell, 2018)
• Combined qualitative and quantitative research through a convergent design
• Quantitative
• Online surveys
• 1637 respondents
• Qualitative
• Public Workshops
• 160 participants
• Focus groups
• Seniors, business community, non-governmental and environmental groups
• Public hearings directly with Council

​

Decision before council

• Should the closure become a permanent seasonal closure?
• If no, then the street reverts back to vehicular traffic year-round
• If yes, there are two choices
• 1 - Keep doing what was being done
• Maintain existing roadway with curbs
• All features are temporary
• 2 - A complete rebuild of the street
• Large capital improvement project
• “Pedestrian oriented” streetscape
• Very expensive and disruptive

​

​

Decision before council

• Should the closure become a permanent seasonal closure?
• If no, then the street reverts back to vehicular traffic year-round
• If yes, there are two choices
• 1 - Keep doing what was being done
• Maintain existing roadway with curbs
• All features are temporary
• 2 - A complete rebuild of the street
• Large capital improvement project
• “Pedestrian oriented” streetscape
• Very expensive

​

• In December 2023, Council decided by a 5-2 vote to make permanent the seasonal annual pedestrian zone

Now It Gets Interesting….

• Once the decision was made to keep the pedestrian zone, it really divided the community.

​

​

Now It Gets Interesting….

• Once the decision was made to keep the pedestrian zone, it really divided the community.
• A Petition was started to send the decision of Council to a binding Vote of Electorate (Plebiscite or Referendum)
• A valid Petition requires signatures from 10% of the population, the Petition was deemed valid and a binding Vote of the Electorate was scheduled for Monday, August 12, 2024
• The Vote of the Electorate question on the ballot: Do you support Banff Town Council’s decision to have a downtown pedestrian zone on Banff Avenue every summer, from the May Long Weekend to the Thanksgiving Long Weekend?
• The Community quickly fell into two camps:
• A Better Banff Avenue – Yes
• Banffites for a Comfortable Living Community - No

​

​

A Better Banff Avenue

Banffites for a Comfortable Living Community

Voting Day – August 12, 2024

• Did the Yes or No side prevail?
• 2,523 votes were cast (higher than any previous municipal election)
• Over half were done in three advance polls
• One rejected ballot due to over voting (someone voted twice)
• What do you think happened?

​

• No prevailed – 1,328 votes (52.7%) to 1,194 votes (47.3%)

​

• Now What?
• Council was required to rescind the bylaw
• Pedestrian zone was removed in early September
• Cannot revisit for a minimum of three years

There’s More!

• PhD Dissertation – University of Manitoba – Department of Geography
• What Visitor Use Management strategies have been created and implemented, and how effective have they been, in addressing vehicle traffic congestion in national parks, protected areas and gateway communities?
• I’d love to hear from you!
• Grant Canning / 403-431-8221 / grant_canning@hotmail.com

Thank you!