Editor:
To paraphrase a well-known saying from Star Trek: The needs of the few – roughly four million visitors to Banff – outweigh the needs of the many – the 8,000 year-round residents of Banff. Or the one – a vibrant and happy community supporting a national parks service centre.
There comes a time, however, when the needs of the few, as part of the one, must be heard, as was demonstrated by the citizens protest at Town Hall on Jan. 8, 2024.
There is a statement in the Jan. 18 edition of the Outlook which says “The downtown pedestrian zone … can see as many as 30,000 pedestrians on a busy summer day.” That is almost four times the year-round population of Banff.
It would be interesting to see the math that supports this figure, and even more interesting to see the reactions of even a small percentage of this 30,000 if they could experience some of the not-so-great living conditions which many of Banff’s senior and long-time residents contend with daily during the existence of the pedestrian zone.
Les Young,
Banff
