Editor:
There seems to be an awful lot of people in favour of changing our existing stoplights to roundabouts. Roundabouts are an excellent idea when built properly and before any existing structures have been erected.
For instance, the roundabout on Bow Valley trail does not have a big enough circumference when it comes to commercial vehicles. Transport trucks and buses have to drive onto the centre median to proceed through this roundabout.
Furthermore, 50 per cent of the people using this roundabout don’t know how to signal properly when passing through.
To suggest a roundabout at Railway Avenue and Eighth Street or anywhere else on Railway is a thought from someone not thinking clearly.
For a roundabout to work effectively
12 months of the year, this roundabout would have to be a two-lane version. Can you imagine Ma & Pa Kettle in their motorhome with vehicle in tow trying to navigate their way through this on their way to Spring Creek Mountain Village on one of our very busy long weekends?
It would look like Black Friday at a Walmart. What are they going to do, take the Rose & Crown’s parking lot away, cut the front of the Drake off and take away the green space in front of Nutter’s for some lovely asphalt?
Apparently all the wannabe councilors think this is a good idea. Haven’t we had enough of politicians in our beautiful town trying to make a legacy for themselves?
We had a mayor who basically called the townspeople stupid on a plebiscite (more people signed than votes to elect mayor) to stop the construction of a town hall that would take the majority of parking spaces out of the downtown core, when they still had a mortgage on the town hall two buildings prior.
Now we have the climbing wall on Railway Avenue named Elevation Place. Not sure if this is a place for levitation or a place to get high. Realistically a climbing wall in a mountain town world renowned for its magnitude of outdoor climbing routes (yes 12 months of outdoor climbing) is like Lake Louise building an indoor ski hill.
How about a new council who is interested in repairing and maintaining the infrastructure of our beautiful town?
Just ask the residents of downtown Canmore how their streets and sidewalks are doing. It would be nice to have a council with a set, who’s not afraid to say no and ruffle some feathers.
Mark Challinor
Canmore
