BANFF – The Town of Banff is hitting the gas on feasibility of an intercept parking and mobility hub at the east entrance to the Banff townsite to deal with traffic congestion.
Banff’s governance and finance committee discussed the issue behind closed doors for almost 2.5 hours Monday (April 22), but later directed administration to return as part of the 2025 service review process with an east entrance intercept mobility hub project for consideration.
Mayor Corrie DiManno said council continues to focus on finding a solution at the east entrance within town boundaries, given Parks Canada’s long-held position an intercept parking lot won’t be considered outside the town boundary.
"Parks Canada’s position on the Town of Banff building parking infrastructure outside of the town boundary has been made clear," she said.
"If in the future anything was to change from their perspective, based on recommendations from the moving people sustainably report, we would be open to exploring any ideas with them, but based on their clear position, our focus continues to be on finding a viable east side intercept solution within the town boundary.
"As we discussed this in camera, I am unable to detail exact locations, but administration will return with some options for council at service review."
The Town of Banff has limited land within the townsite, but one of the most likely areas previously flagged is the industrial compound, including the contaminated 1.5-acre off-leash dog park on Hawk Avenue which has been closed.
Outside the town boundary, the Elkwoods has long been eyed by the municipality for a park-and-ride lot, but Parks Canada has consistently said no to land outside the town for more than 20 years.
The federal agency doesn’t want development on rare montane lands or further impacts to a wildlife corridor, which GPS collar data and winter tracking information provided by Parks Canada shows is used by grizzly bears, wolves and cougars.
The governance and finance committee also directed administration to continue working with Parks Canada on implementation of proposed strategies in the expert advisory panel on moving people sustainably in Banff National Park.
The Parks Canada-struck expert panel, which examined the issues for about a year, recommended two transportation hubs in the national park, one in Banff and one in Lake Louise, to deal with increasing traffic congestion.
Parks Canada has committed to delivering a sustainable strategy for moving people by 2026.
With exploding visitation to more than four million visitors, the past decade has seen a steady rise in vehicle traffic.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more than 8.5 million vehicles on Banff highways, with half of that estimated to be through traffic.
This rise is even greater at some of the park’s main attractions. At Lake Louise, for example, there has been a 71 per cent increase in traffic volume over the past decade.
