The Town of Banff looks set to move ahead with a feasibility study of a gondola to popular tourist spots on Sulphur Mountain, the Banff Centre and Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in a bid to ease the town’s traffic woes.
The $70,000 study, which is on the capital books for 2015, will also look at the feasibility of a second bridge across the Bow River and widening and road realignment of Mountain Avenue. The study is not a done deal until the capital budget is finalized later this month.
Town officials say they are meeting with several people within Parks Canada on Jan. 7 to begin talks on how to solve the congestion problem in the tourist town, including the concept of a gondola system.
“We broached the subject with Ottawa specific to the Town of Banff and Parks Canada working together on the issue of traffic congestion, including the concept of a cable transit system,” said Town Manager Robert Earl.
“We weren’t told to stand down. We have support from Ottawa to begin that conversation in earnest … This study is to look at the feasibility of three different infrastructure projects.”
A feasibility study would look at the concept of a 3.8-kilometre gondola trip to connect the downtown core with The Banff Centre, Banff Springs Hotel, Upper Hot Springs and the Banff Gondola on Sulphur Mountain.
With Banff’s 3.3 million annual visitors, and many arriving in private vehicles, the idea behind the gondola idea is to shift the focus away from moving vehicles and towards moving people as a more sustainable approach.
In 2014, 54 out of the 62 days in July and August were over the congestion threshold of 20,000 vehicles per day. Congestion delays, particularly northbound from the Sulphur Mountain gondola and the Banff Springs Hotel, can exceed 1.5 hours at peak times.
Short-term solutions, including implementing scramble crosswalks, manipulating signal timings, integrating and centralizing the signal timings and camera network, are being used to help with traffic congestion.
Potential alignment of a gondola includes a station at Banff Avenue adjacent to the high school field, a turning station only at Tunnel Mountain between Wolf Street and Tunnel Mountain Drive, The Banff Centre adjacent to the Eric Harvie Theatre, Banff Springs Hotel, the Banff hot springs and the Sulphur Mountain gondola.
Councillor Ted Christensen fought to put the feasibility study off until 2017, arguing the residents of Banff need to be better informed about the idea and the study.
“I think the concept has great merit for our future traffic needs and future tourism needs,” he said. “But I’m finding I am meeting lots of opposition, particularly from locals. I think we need the time to percolate the idea, to talk to potential partners and bring up discussions with townspeople before we spend $70,000 for a study.”
Mayor Karen Sorensen said no one is suggesting a gondola be built, rather the concept be investigated as a possible option.
“We’re moving ahead with a study to consider options,” she said. “The first thing we have to find out is if it’s even an option, including talking to Parks Canada.”
Coun. Stavros Karlos said one of the biggest pinch point areas leading to traffic congestion is the intersection of Banff Avenue and Buffalo Street, just north of the bridge across the Bow River.
“When we hit the threshold of 20,000 to 24,000 vehicles, we will have an hour to hour-and-a-half backup. That’s a fact … this study is talking about solving the backup problem on Sulphur Mountain, ” he said.
“We cannot tear down the CIBC and can’t do a complete redo of that intersection, so administration is looking at a number of different options – another bridge, another two-lane highway going up Sulphur Mountain was another suggestion – a gondola is another suggestion.”
Coun. Grant Canning voiced support for the study.
“We have one way to get across the river and that’s the bridge. This study is about where we’re going to be in 20 years,” he said.
“Public consultation is important, but to go out to the public at this point is too early. We need to find out the options and then get those options to the public.”
