The Cougar Creek trailhead in Canmore has been at the centre of several major construction projects since the 2013 flood – none of which have endeavoured to improve the nearby parking lot until now.
As part of its 2017 capital budget, Canmore council is considering a $200,000 project to tackle the Cougar Creek parking lot and pathway connection enhancements in the area.
The trailhead parking was washed away in the 2013 flood, and has been at the intersection of heavy equipment working in the creek and up the watershed ever since. This past summer, Canmore also improved the intersection of Elk Run Boulevard and Benchlands Trail – where the parking lot is located – with a new roundabout designed to include pedestrians, cyclists and transit safely.
Mayor John Borrowman, however, was surprised to see the new project only proposes to add four more parking stalls.
“This is still inadequate,” said the mayor. “Is there room to expand parking in the future?”
Manager of engineering Andy Esarte told the finance committee, which reviews the budget before council approves it, that administration does not want to encourage people to park vehicles at the trailhead and questions paving large areas for increased vehicle parking.
“I would suggest there will always be parking pressures in that area in general,” Esarte said. “A larger parking lot is going to put a small dent in ongoing demand.”
Cougar Creek trailhead parking has seen increased pressures from high use – especially in summer and on weekends – since before the flood. Vehicles often spill out from the parking lot – which services an Alberta Parks hiking route up Cougar Creek – along Benchlands Trail up into the Eagle Terrace neighbourhood.
Esarte said there is the possibility of 10 more stalls on the other side of the creek where the ice rink is in the future – after long-term mitigation is finished being constructed possibly.
According to the project summary in the budget, work on design for enhancements to the parking lot and pathways was undertaken in 2016 and include elements that are intended to improve the trailhead, add parking, reduce trail user interactions and improve safety.
For the pathway, the project summary states the commuter pathway that runs between Elk Run Boulevard and the Trans-Canada Highway could be improved by increasing the width, adding a parallel gravel pathway for dog walking and intersection improvements at the pedestrian bridges.
The parking lot and trailhead “will be slightly enlarged to provde four more parking stalls,” according to the project summary. The washroom facility will also be upgraded.
“Greater additions to the parking lot were considered,” stated the project summary, “however, we propose to encourage the use of the new transit services, which provides a stop directly adjacent to the parking lot, or the use of the improved pathways as alternatives.”
