KANANASKIS COUNTRY – Kananaskis Improvement District seeks to better understand traffic and visitor economy impacts in the region with transit projects getting gas and healthy returns in its tourism sector.
KID chair Melanie Gnyp urged council to cross its fingers in its latest effort to secure grant funding for related assessments that would magnify and hopefully support discussions with other levels of government to aid visitor-related growth.
“The economic impact assessment is something I think will really position us well for advocating for our contributions toward the province’s GDP with our tourism [and] visitor spending,” said Coun. Claude Faerden. “So, I am in full support of that.
“I’m really, really excited about the potential of getting any of these three, or even better, all of these three initiatives rolling,” he added, noting an electric vehicle charging station analysis also included in a grant bid to the province’s Northern and Regional Economic Development program (NRED).
The program funds regional economic development and diversification initiatives led by municipalities, Indigenous communities and non-profits. It is a matching grant and KID would contribute $52,475, or 50 per cent, of total project costs estimated at $104,950.
Of that amount, $70,000 would be for a traffic impact assessment, $15,000 to explore economic impacts and $19,950 to look at installing EV charging stations within Kananaskis.
Gnyp emphasized the importance of the economic development assessment to better articulate the gross impact of tourism and other economic activities within KID.
She challenged administration to consider if the municipality should contribute more to the study, with the grant program allowing a matching maximum of up to $200,000.
Prior to the 2013 flood, Alberta’s government commissioned a study to estimate the economic impact of tourism in Kananaskis. The study noted there were over 1.1 million visits to K-Country in 2011 at which time Kananaskis generated $194.2 million in tourism expenditures spent primarily on accommodation, food and beverage, then private auto.
“These expenditures supported a total economic impact (value-added) of $202.5 million in Alberta in 2011,” stated the report by Econometric Research Ltd.
Rachel Ludwig, CEO of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis (TCK), said the tourist organization’s data indicates visitor spend increased to $379.6 million in Kananaskis in 2022, with over 50 per cent of that coming from Alberta visitors.
“This showcases the importance of Kananaskis not only for Alberta’s visitor economy but for the connection with nature that Kananaskis offers to Albertans,” she said in an email.
In 2011, there were also over 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs as a result of tourism expenditures in Kananaskis, generating over $125.4 million in wages and salaries. Ludwig said TCK does not have current exact data on the number of jobs the tourism industry creates in Kananaskis, but hopes that will be part of an economic impact assessment.
Since 2011, visitation to K-Country has increased to more than four million visitors annually, which is also reflected in the number of vehicles on the road and in parking lots at peak times from July to September.
Last year, Alberta Parks surveyed recreational usage in the Highwood Pass with the area experiencing particularly high visitation during peak months, resulting in at-capacity trailhead parking lots and hundreds of vehicles parking along Highway 40, presenting public safety and emergency response issues.
Larch MADNESS today at Highwood Pass! #yyc
— Kyle Brittain (@BadWeatherKyle) September 23, 2023
3.4 kilometres of cars parked on the side of the road 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Mnw5xfauCN
KID council has previously advocated for receiving a portion of funding from the province’s Kananaskis Conservation Pass to support visitor-related expenditures, which could include public transit to move people through the region and reduce personal vehicle traffic.
Earlier this year, KID and the MD of Bighorn agreed to enter an intermunicipal transit feasibility study with both municipalities uniquely isolated in the Bow Valley area with high visitation compared to small resident populations. There are about 250 people living in KID, with a shadow population of around 400 in the summer, and about 800 living in the MD between Exshaw, Dead Man’s Flats, Lac Des Arcs and Harvie Heights.
The MD has approved an allowance of up to $50,000 for the transit study and KID has agreed to contribute $20,000. If approved, the NRED grant would cut the municipalities’ projected cost of about $70,000 by half.
KID council has also been in talks with Alberta Parks regarding shared goals to address vehicle congestion along highways and within provincial parks and recreation areas in Kananaskis, and to increase accessibility. On Dec. 6, following an earlier appointment of an Alberta Parks advisory person to KID’s transit committee, members of KID council, the MD and provincial representatives met to discuss public transit.
A traffic impact assessment would support the study and look closely at the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 40 overpass – identified as an important juncture to project partners, said KID municipal advisor Kie Shiroma.
The overpass, however, is also located outside KID’s jurisdiction and an agreement with Stoney Nakoda First Nation would be required.
The Nation has stated its interest in a regional transit system which could integrate Swift Mînî Thnî Transit, which runs from Mînî Thnî to Cochrane.
Representatives of Stoney Nakoda Land Management Ltd. and the Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino were present at KID’s latest council meeting to present on the Nation’s vision for transit opportunities, including a transit hub or a park and ride centralized near the resort, which it seeks to eventually develop with housing, retail, entertainment and more.
EV CHARGING STATIONS
As part of the NRED grant application, KID council voted to further explore installing EV charging stations within Kananaskis. Currently there are two at the Bearspaw Travel Centre off Highway 40. There are also four at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, which are designated for hotel guests.
While Gnyp said she supported the concept of EV charging stations in KID, she noted she struggles with the idea of potential long-term costs to operate and maintain them.
Coun. Darren Robinson, who is general manager of Kananaskis Country Golf Course, also had hesitations around where a report might recommend stations be installed. It has been suggested the golf course could be a viable option, but he wondered if they might be better suited somewhere like a gas station as opposed to a destination where someone could be using it for several hours.
Faerden argued uses for both and said there is merit and interest in destination charging to relieve visitors “EV anxiety” when they arrive somewhere and there isn’t a charger.
In June 2022, SAIT civil engineering technology students presented KID council with a capstone project looking at the feasibility of EV charging stations in KID. The report looked at providers, product options and prices, as well as suitable locations for chargers based on economic benefit, traffic data and existing utility infrastructure.
The report was accepted by council, however, it did not pursue the project acknowledging the limited capacity of administrative staff at the time, as well as a need for further technical studies.
Shiroma noted the NRED grant would allow KID to fill any knowledge gaps and explore feasible locations.
KID previously applied for the grant in January for four initiatives including hiring a telecommunications and broadband manager, installing emergency satellite phones, EV charging stations, and for a transit feasibility study.
According to a staff report, feedback received noted KID’s application “was strong, but the program was heavily oversubscribed,” and “the application would have been made stronger had there been financial contributions from partners, and if a more robust connection to long-term job creation and regional impact could have been made.”
KID council noted it will be seeking letters of support from partners, including Banff-Kananaskis MLA Sarah Elmeligi, Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors, the MD of Bighorn, Stoney Nakoda Land Management Ltd., tourist organizations and businesses to strengthen its latest grant application.
Ludwig, who said TCK wrote in support of the application, urged the need for partnerships to reach shared environmental goals.
“All levels of government will need to be involved for us to achieve our vision of becoming leaders in sustainable tourism,” she said.
Matching funds from KID for the grant would likely come out of operating reserves, from additional grants, or, where possible, from savings found in its approved 2024 budget.
The next round of NRED funding announcements is expected in March 2024.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
