Town to conduct social, rec assessment

The Town of Banff plans to conduct a social and recreational assessment to identify possible issues or problems in the community that may need addressing.

The assessment, which aims to create a comprehensive picture of the current social well being and vitality of Banff, will include the most up-to-date statistical information, such as census data, income, affordability and housing.

Town officials say they want the community to flourish as socially diverse, offering universal access to affordable services that meet the evolving needs of residents and visitors.

“In order to achieve this vision, we need to ensure we have a solid understanding of what those needs are,” said Alison Gerrits, the Town’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) supervisor.

“This assessment will provide us the opportunity to do that.”

In 2006, FCSS completed a community social assessment to identify key community issues and possible community-driven solutions, which led to several recommendations.

They included the Affordability Guide, the Banff-Canmore community bus, low-income transit passes, the community greenhouse and Everybody Gets to Play program – to name a few.

This year’s assessment aims to build on that study to include recreation.

The groups to be consulted for the 2012 assessment include families with children up to six years of age and with school-age children; youth aged 12-17 years; young adults from 18 to 20 and adults and seniors.