Editor:
Over the past several weeks, Banff has been debating the pros and cons of the Banff Avenue pedestrian zone. Many have used public safety – the evacuation of the south side of town – as a reason to not proceed.
The fact of the matter is the pinch point to evacuating the south side is the Bow River bridge with a maximum of two lanes that could be utilized to move traffic northbound.
In 2019, a major emergency exercise was conducted in Banff using a scenario of a wildfire approaching from the west. The Town and Parks Canada, along with many agency partners, established an emergency coordination centre as well as an unified incident command post.
Every dwelling unit on the south side was visited in under four hours. Traffic movement calculations were conducted using one vehicle per dwelling unit and all 1,300 visitor parking spaces occupied. This would include Cave and Basin, Banff Springs, Upper Hot Springs, Gondola and Rimrock parkade. The data suggested we could move all vehicles over the bridge with one lane northbound in approximately five hours. With properly managed two lane northbound traffic, that time could be reduced.
Prudent evacuation strategies would include multiple exit tactics, including using all exits out of town. Vehicles would be directed down one lane of Banff Ave., one lane down Bear and Lynx streets, and one lane up and over Otter Street exiting at the Rocky Mountain Resort intersection. Sending more than one lane down Banff Ave. would create a bottle neck at the north end where it reduces to one lane and create a backup far worse than anything we have ever seen in Banff.
The most significant actions every resident in the Bow Valley should do is be prepared for emergencies and sign up for the Voyent emergency alert system. Both Banff and Canmore use the same system and it is the very best way to get accurate and timely emergency information. So, whether you are for or against the pedestrian zone, please leave public safety out of the conversation.
Silvio Adamo,
Banff
