The Town of Banff is initiating the trial of a two-way cycling greenway along Banff Avenue.
The greenway is a dedicated laneway for cyclists and skateboarders, to be delineated by lines and poles, northbound along a 1.5-kilometre stretch of Banff Avenue from the Legacy Trail East to the 300 block of Banff Avenue near Banff Community High School.
It opens this week and will be removed in November.
Officials say they have looked at what other jurisdiction are doing to promote green transportation, including New York City, Vancouver and Calgary, which recently opened its 12 Avenue S.W. dedicated cycling track.
“The goal is getting people out of their cars and providing better infrastructure for them,” said Chad Townsend, the Town of Banff’s environmental manager.
“Providing people with a dedicated lane has been shown in other jurisdictions to increase both the numbers and diversity of use.”
The Banff Avenue cycling greenway will begin at the 300 block of Banff Avenue using the parking lane adjacent to the sidewalk. Traffic will merge into one lane past Moose Street, and existing on-street parking will be shifted over so the greenway remains next to the sidewalk.
The greenway will incorporate delineators, concrete barriers at intersections, road markings and signs.
Users must follow rules of the road in coming to a complete stop, giving pedestrians the right of way at crosswalks and obeying all traffic signals. Cyclists are also asked to dismount and use the pedestrian crosswalks to fully cross Banff Avenue, rather than enter traffic.
The greenway crosses 21 driveways, most of them into multi-unit complexes, and five intersections. As with all sidewalks, motorists exiting and entering driveways and turning into intersections give right-of-way to greenway users.
Townsend said he believes the greenway will be well used by locals and visitors alike.
“The Legacy Trail keeps growing in popularity with all types of users – families, old people, young people – and we need to get them safely in and out of town,” he said. “We also want people to get to work this way, especially in summer.”
Greenways were initially identified in the Banff Trails Master Plan, approved by council last February.
That plan also called for cycling greenways on Muskrat Street and Elk Street, which could link up with the greenway on Banff Avenue. The idea of greenways proved contentious, particularly the proposed Muskrat Street pathway.
“The Town decided to trial the greenway only on Banff Avenue in response to feedback on a proposed dedicated path along Muskrat Street,” said Townsend.
Townsend said using an existing vehicle lane to create a greenway is a less costly option than the original Legacy Trail extension project approved in 2014.
He said the original project, which would have only taken users as far as Marmot Crescent on a dedicated path, involved the expensive relocation of retaining walls and a gas line with a budget of $350,000.
“The greenway trial cost is $61,655 and will take users safely all the way downtown,” he said.
