Rally in support of Banff's pedestrian zone takes place as advanced voting continues

As the public decides the fate of the contentious pedestrian zone along the Town of Banff's main downtown strip, a group of residents dressed in yellow took to Banff Avenue during the 'Go Bananas for Banff Ave.' event to rally in favour of keeping the thoroughfare closed to cars every summer season.

It's because turning the annual pedestrian corridor into a permanent fixture has been a divisive issue for many who live in the town. 

After Banff's town council unanimously passed a motion to hold a vote of the electorate on Aug. 12, residents of the town will choose whether or not to support their council's decision to close a section of Banff Avenue to vehicles every year from the May long weekend until the Thanksgiving long weekend. 

Wednesday also marked the second instalment of the town's advanced polls on the issue.

"I'm basically a believer in aligning ourselves with a vision for the future to promote sustainable tourism," said Stephane Prevost, a resident rallying in support of the pedestrian zone.

Prevost says he's been living in Banff since the early 1980s and owns restaurants on Caribou Street, which intersects Banff Avenue.

He believes both visitors and residents have become accustomed to the pedestrian zone and "what it has to offer," adding that he doesn't want to see it become crowded with vehicles again.

Stavros Karlos is also on the pro-pedestrian zone side of the debate, and he attended Wednesday's rally with a button on his shirt that read "I vote for a better Banff Ave."

"When we have four lanes of traffic, what sort of message are we sending to our visitors about National Park values?" said Karlos.

"Our values have to start by showing people what a National Park community should look like."

Contentious topic

While those in favour of the road closure say it benefits tourism and limits vehicle traffic, those against it believe that it only moves traffic, disrupting residential streets, and that it also creates more of a footprint for commercial activity in the national park.

The car-free stretch along Banff's main drag has been a popular attraction for various businesses and visitors, but some locals complain they didn't have a say in the closure.

Back in mid-April, a petition calling for council to repeal its decision to proceed with the annual summer pedestrian zone was deemed valid by the town's administration under the rules outlined in the Municipal Government Act. It received approximately 1,019 signatures, and forced council to take the decision to a vote of the electors.

Leslie Taylor, one of the organizers of the petition and a group opposed to the annual pedestrian zone, says residents have been concerned "council hadn't actually read the will of the Banff voters quite right."

Taylor believes the pedestrian zone has moved traffic to other areas of the town, and that creating another tourist attraction within what she calls an "already overcrowded" Banff creates further congestion for locals.

"We have a town that is planned and built around one arterial road which goes straight through and onto the bridge, and when you block that road there are issues in the rest of the town," Taylor told CBC News on Wednesday.

She says the resources needed to support the town's tourism sector — such as hotels and restaurants — will need to arrive via large vehicles.

"Where should those trucks and buses go? Should they go down our main arterial route in the commercial area, or should they be rerouted through residential areas with tight, narrow intersections? We feel that the road that's designed for it is perhaps where those trucks and buses should be."

She also hopes the town will work with Parks Canada on how many cars are allowed to come through the town.

"There is no question that encouraging people to leave their cars and walk is what we have to do," said Taylor, adding that the measures being taken to mitigate vehicle traffic can continue whether parts of Banff Avenue are closed to vehicles or not.

Pandemic-era measure

In December 2023, Banff's town council had initially voted to make the two-block pedestrian zone an annual feature after it was first piloted as a COVID-19 response in 2020.

However, that decision was stalled in January 2024, when council received a letter from Parks Canada, questioning the use of patios and other commercial developments along the publicly owned street where the zone would be enacted. 

"The pedestrian zone was created based on the desire to provide more space to up to 40,000 pedestrians who walked these two blocks every summer, every day," Jason Darrah, director of communications for the Town of Banff.

Darrah says that even though the town has added roughly 600 parking stalls within the last decade, it's also been adding various pedestrian-friendly trails and has been campaigning for visitors to use transit. 

"It's always been a goal to increase our pedestrianization," he said.

"This is part of that ongoing process to support and prioritize pedestrians and transit users because the Town of Banff hasn't grown at all outwards, or our roads, since incorporation in the 1990s. So we really support pedestrians, but we can't support more vehicles."

'Respect everyone's viewpoints, opinions'

Under the Municipal Government Act and the Local Authorities Election Act, eligible voters who reside in Banff are able to cast their vote on whether they support town council's decision to create a pedestrian corridor or if they want the road to be open for vehicles.

The first advanced voting date took place over the weekend, and the third and final advanced poll is scheduled for July 29. 

Darrah says that should residents vote in the majority against the road closure, council council has up to 30 days to pass a bylaw that rescinds the previous decision, overturning the pedestrian zone. 

Then, Darrah says there will be up to two weeks given to demobilize patios and move the blockades, reopening the section to vehicle traffic.

Currently, the pedestrian zone along Banff Avenue remains in effect. Next steps will be determined once the official Aug. 12 voting day takes place.

When it comes to discussing the issue, Prevost says he has friends who are for it and friends who are against it.

"We have to respect everyone's viewpoints, opinions," he said.

"All I ask of people is let's have a civil discussion about it and let's try to be optimistic and progressive about it. And this vote will be the first step in a democratic process."