Banff visitors can rev up their engines after residents voted to do away with a controversial pedestrian only zone in the heart of the mountain town.In a plebiscite Monday, 1,328 people voted to remove the barricades while 1,194 voted to keep it. About 2,523 of 4,450 eligible votes were cast. Final results will be certified today.By comparison, about 2,090 people voted in the 2021 municipal election. The plebiscite was triggered after 1,019 residents representing about 12% of the population signed a petition earlier this spring..That means council will meet later this month on August 26 to pass a formal bylaw permanently opening Banff Avenue — one of the most photographed spots in Canada — to vehicle traffic on a year round basis.According to the Town of Banff website, the pedestrian zone amenities will be dismantled starting in the days immediately after the bylaw is passed, including removal of extra public seating, bicycle parking and flower planters. Restaurant patios and retail displays will be dismantled, followed by changing traffic light signal timing at Wolf Street, Buffalo Street and coordination with lights on Spray Avenue. Finally, the gates that allow Roam Transit to enter the pedestrian zone will be removed along with the large planter barricades at each end of the pedestrian zone and on Caribou Street, and the road will be reopened to all vehicles..”The resounding message of concern is having too many vehicles on our finite road system.”Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno.The pedestrian zone had previously been implemented in the summer of 2020 as a way for local restaurants and businesses to skirt social distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.But residents complained all it did was divert traffic through side streets and residential neighborhoods. Businesses that weren’t on the main thoroughfare complained it wasn’t fair to allow some businesses to have expanded patios but not others.Some said it created a safety hazard in the need for evacuation.By some estimates, as many as 40,000 people congregate in the area on a busy summer day..Parks Canada — which has the final say on land use in the townsite — was opposed to the pedestrian zone because it felt it was a thinly disguised attempt to get around a federally legislated cap on the amount of commercial floorspace.Both supporters and opponents noted the need for a traffic solution and broader concerns about ‘over tourism’.Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno told local media the issue of vehicle traffic will still need to be addressed due to the townsite’s federally legislated permitted land use.“We heard many reasons why folks didn’t want to keep the pedestrian zone, but the resounding message of concern is having too many vehicles on our finite road system. I believe this is a shared community concern no matter how people voted on the pedestrian zone.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
Banff visitors can rev up their engines after residents voted to do away with a controversial pedestrian only zone in the heart of the mountain town.In a plebiscite Monday, 1,328 people voted to remove the barricades while 1,194 voted to keep it. About 2,523 of 4,450 eligible votes were cast. Final results will be certified today.By comparison, about 2,090 people voted in the 2021 municipal election. The plebiscite was triggered after 1,019 residents representing about 12% of the population signed a petition earlier this spring..That means council will meet later this month on August 26 to pass a formal bylaw permanently opening Banff Avenue — one of the most photographed spots in Canada — to vehicle traffic on a year round basis.According to the Town of Banff website, the pedestrian zone amenities will be dismantled starting in the days immediately after the bylaw is passed, including removal of extra public seating, bicycle parking and flower planters. Restaurant patios and retail displays will be dismantled, followed by changing traffic light signal timing at Wolf Street, Buffalo Street and coordination with lights on Spray Avenue. Finally, the gates that allow Roam Transit to enter the pedestrian zone will be removed along with the large planter barricades at each end of the pedestrian zone and on Caribou Street, and the road will be reopened to all vehicles..”The resounding message of concern is having too many vehicles on our finite road system.”Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno.The pedestrian zone had previously been implemented in the summer of 2020 as a way for local restaurants and businesses to skirt social distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.But residents complained all it did was divert traffic through side streets and residential neighborhoods. Businesses that weren’t on the main thoroughfare complained it wasn’t fair to allow some businesses to have expanded patios but not others.Some said it created a safety hazard in the need for evacuation.By some estimates, as many as 40,000 people congregate in the area on a busy summer day..Parks Canada — which has the final say on land use in the townsite — was opposed to the pedestrian zone because it felt it was a thinly disguised attempt to get around a federally legislated cap on the amount of commercial floorspace.Both supporters and opponents noted the need for a traffic solution and broader concerns about ‘over tourism’.Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno told local media the issue of vehicle traffic will still need to be addressed due to the townsite’s federally legislated permitted land use.“We heard many reasons why folks didn’t want to keep the pedestrian zone, but the resounding message of concern is having too many vehicles on our finite road system. I believe this is a shared community concern no matter how people voted on the pedestrian zone.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
