BANFF – A first-term councillor wants to hear from the community on the merits of moving forward with the Banff Avenue pedestrian zone again next summer.
Coun. Hugh Pettigrew said he plans to bring forward a notice of motion for council's consideration at the Sept. 26 council meeting to reopen discussions at the 2023 budget deliberations on the closure of the 100 and 200 blocks of Banff Avenue to vehicles for a pedestrian zone.
“This is a polarizing question in the community,” said Coun. Pettigrew during the Sept. 12 council meeting.
“My intent is to get enough notice for people to respond on how they wish we proceed. I am fielding a lot of sentiments and concerns on both sides of this coin.”
Following lengthy debate during 2022 budget deliberations, the downtown pedestrian zone was given the green light for summers of 2022 and 2023, running from the May long weekend to the end of Thanksgiving weekend in October.
There was no commitment beyond that.
The initial intent of the pedestrian zone was to create increased opportunities for physical distancing and provide local businesses with an opportunity to offset public health restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The allocation of public space for restaurants and retailers in the public realm prioritizes first storey at-grade restaurants and café tenants, but also offered opportunities for second storey and basement tenants.
“This is shifting from a pandemic response to a visitor attraction,” said Darren Enns, the director of planning and development for the Town of Banff at the time of the budget discussions.
The tourism industry as a whole has voiced strong support for continuing the pedestrian zone, although individual businesses have opposed it. In addition, many residents expressed concern about traffic being diverted through residential neighbourhoods on Beaver and Muskrat streets.
There are also ongoing concerns about congestion, especially from the residents on the south side of the Bow River who say it can take a long time to get across the bridge to downtown on the busiest of days.
“The reason I am bringing this forward is I think we need to hear from the community and the sooner we hear from them, the better," said Coun. Pettigrew. “It’s a hot button topic.”
