For those who believe Parks is going in the wrong direction with a $67 million project to widen Bow Valley Parkway and install bicycle-friendly wider shoulders, we have an easy solution.
Skip the widening aspect of the project and stick to the shoulders. Think of the money saved.
Being that speeding is already at epidemic proportions in Banff National Park, both on the Trans-Canada and Highway 1A (Parkway), we agree that widening the roadway would likely be counterproductive.
Really, no matter what the road condition is, nobody should have a difficult time navigating it, even with a large RV in tow, at the posted 60km/h.
There. Without even getting into suggestions for photo radar everywhere in the park as a means of cutting back on leadfoots, the increased speeding issue is now solved.
Leaving Bow Valley Parkway as is, road surface-wise, should keep almost everyone happy – from business owners along the road to those who believe widening would increase speeds to the point of increasing wildlife fatalities.
Do not widen Bow Valley Parkway.
Now, on to wider shoulders to support safer cycling.
Cycling, it seems, is here to stay, as can be witnessed within Banff Park itself by the popularity of the GranFondo event, and others, which attract thousands. The Legacy Trail also attracts thousands and there is no reason safe cycling shouldn’t be extended to the Parkway.
Cycling, we feel it’s safe to say, is becoming a major tourist attraction for Banff. And because it’s a green, healthy alternative to vehicles belching exhaust, we feel it should be made a priority.
In fact, the Parkway will be featured in a new, 90-kilometre GranFondo route this year; such is the popularity of cycling on the scenic road.
Anything that can be done to embrace a better, safer cycling experience should be considered.
As to concerns that widening and creating wider shoulders for cycling would somehow detract from wildlife viewing … we aren’t aware that Bow Valley Parkway has as part of its mandate to serve as a wildlife viewing area.
In fact, the Outlook’s view is that the further most wildlife stay away from our roadways the better. Wildlife over and underpasses, and many kilometers of fencing, have been constructed on the Trans-Canada, for example, with the expressed purpose of keeping wildlife off the roads.
Rather than widen the Parkway, funds could go toward the installation of wildlife fencing along the road – well back, to keep wildlife a safe distance from being hit by the speeding vehicles mentioned above – and if necessary, on over and underpasses. Wildlife fencing set well back from the road, except for where wildlife crossings are located, might be a much better way to spend millions on the Parkway.
Correctly installed fencing would reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions, as well as reduce bear, elk, wolf, etc. traffic jams that are a danger to wildlife and humans alike.
Vehicles, after all, are not the ideal platform from which to view wildlife in our national parks. Hiking boots fill that role nicely, for those willing to get out from behind the wheel for a glimpse of our wildlife.
Proper shoulders on Bow Valley Parkway would also allow cyclists who have grown weary of the Legacy Trail as a steady diet to switch things up for a different ride through some of Canada’s most spectacular scenery.
