BANFF – Residents and tourists will be without an outdoor skating rink in the townsite this winter.
The rink at the Banff Community High School won’t be built because of damage to the turf last winter and the Town of Banff isn’t going ahead with the smaller outdoor rinks on Bear Street or at the Fenlands recreation centre.
Town officials say damage to the downtown high school field from the last ice season meant it did not fully open until late August, resulting in students having limited access to outdoor activities for physical education and extra-curricular activities.
“Unfortunately, this year the school rink will not be going ahead because of damage to the turf and the amount of time that it took to get the turf in good condition for play this summer,” said Emma Sanborn, a development planner with the Town of Banff.
“The Fenlands outdoor rink is not scheduled to happen as well this year.”
Town of Banff administration pitched building a skating rink on the Bear Street surface parking lot again for this winter, along with the addition of a mini-curling rink, as part of a bigger plan to create a winter hub of activity on the $9.5 million newly redeveloped shared street.
The skating rink proposal came with a $29,500 price tag for porta-potties, communications signage and pageantry, such as animated lights, AV trailer, rental of lighting and installations and removal of the lighting.
“An amenity such as this is an invitation to linger on the street and participate in winter activity,” said Sanborn during a council meeting on Monday (Nov. 8).
Council voted 3-2 against the proposal, with councillors Barb Pelham, Hugh Pettigrew and Ted Christensen raising concerns about a loss of parking with the closure of the parking lot, especially for residents who needed access to nearby medical facilities and services.
Coun. Chip Olver was absent from the discussion and vote and Coun. Kaylee Ram declared a conflict of interest because she owns a business on Bear Street.
Coun. Pelham, who did not support a rink on Bear Street, pointed to #banffskating and #skateinbanff.
“If you look at those two sites, it’s all about skating on lakes,” she said. “I think the parking lot is too small to provide a quality skating experience.”
Mayor Corrie DiManno made an impassioned plea to her council colleagues to support the Bear Street skating rink.
She said the redeveloped Bear Street is intended to be a place of animation and vibrancy to draw in people, but most importantly, to drive economic activity and help businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It really felt like a Norman Rockwell painting down there last winter,” she said, adding a skating rink provides a free activity for residents in a safe outdoor environment during the pandemic and an option for visitors who don’t come to Banff to ski.
“I just want us to think about the type of experience we can have there and to fully realize the vision of that street, especially in times of coming out of the pandemic and on top of construction for Bear Street.”
Mayor DiManno said the skating rink and planned special events for Bear Street this winter speak to what a public street can be – not just for vehicles.
“Cars don’t shop, people do; cars don’t go for lunch, people do, and so when you make this a people street, it’s going to help boost that economic activity,” she said.
Mindful of residents’ needs, DiManno said people previously found places to park during the 14 months the parking lot was closed for the construction of Bear Street.
“Folks found a way to get their appointments and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to try and do this again,” she said.
Coun. Grant Canning echoed the mayor’s comments, noting the outdoor skating rink at the Banff recreation grounds won’t open until early 2023 and Central Park isn’t a viable option because of issues with grading.
“At this point in time, this is our only outdoor rink,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in the community who enjoy outdoor skating rinks and not having one, I think, is unfortunate.”
A series of special events are planned for Bear Street this winter, including Banff & Lake Louise Tourism’s (BLLT) market stalls and live music programming Nov. 20-Dec. 24, the Banff Craft Beer Festival Dec. 4-11, SnowDays Jan.19-31 and Tribute Craft Spirits Celebration Jan. 29-30.
BLLT purchased 10 market-style huts that will be deployed throughout the season to support winter event programming.
Coun. Christensen not only voiced opposition to the skating rink amid concerns for a loss of parking, but also potential full or partial street closures associated with special events this winter.
“It is still critical for those businesses on Bear Street that rely on people picking things up with their vehicles – the ski shops, the convenience stores, the doctors’ offices,” he said.
“The shared street concept is bending away from sharing with accessible vehicle use and parking so we have closures now… it’s no longer a shared street,” he said.
