With the final provincial election candidate forum having taken place on Monday (April 27) and with the leaders’ televised debate now over with, we’ll again encourage Bow Valley citizens to get out and vote on Tuesday (May 5).
Monday’s Canmore forum at Silvertip, hosted by BOWDA and co-hosted by CBT and BRZ, saw about 200 attend, which was encouraging after a low turnout of about 85 in Banff the week before, but the number still doesn’t smack of deep interest in our political process.
By today (April 30), we imagine most people who are going to vote have made up their minds and, if not, we’re offering up some more coverage on pages eight and 15.
At this point in time, many people are pointing to pathetic voter turnouts in the last two provincial elections (including the Outlook). There is some hand wringing and calls for voting to be made mandatory.
We would rather citizens took an interest in their own future, provincially, and wouldn’t favour mandatory voting as insisting people vote could be as useless as not voting. It wouldn’t be enough to just mark a ballot just for the sake of marking one; some thought and weighing of the issues is what’s needed.
Please take a few minutes out of your day on Tuesday and cast your ballot.
Bears are out there
It’s that time of year again, when spring has sprung, the grass has riz’ and we now know where some of our bears is.
Bears have been spotted out of their dens in Banff and near Canmore/Harvie Heights, which means locals and visitors alike need to step up their awareness.
As the weather warms and more people take to area trails on bikes and on boots, it’s encumbent on recreational enthusiasts to take proper steps to avoid human/bear encounters. Bears will be hungry as they search for early greens and carrion left over from winter and it’s important to keep an eye out for them.
As it is, we’ve seen plenty of people on trails in the area, sans bear spray. When it comes to personal insurance, bear spray is about as cheap as it gets and it should really be mandatory on almost any pack or bike.
Look, up in the sky …
We can’t wait to see what comes of the Town of Banff’s request for proposals on the feasibility of constructing a gondola that would carry visitors and residents over busy downtown streets.
A gondola: now that’s thinking outside the box, or parking stall, or parkade, or intercept lot …
Not only would a gondola have a possible positive effect on parking in Banff, it would doubtless be yet another tourist attraction within the town itself. Many people have hopped on gondolas which whisk them up a mountainside or ski slope, but how many have taken one as an alternative to public transportation or to driving around looking for a parking spot?
The idea of a gondola could end up being pie in the sky, or it could be a real slice of life for those looking for something different. With a terminus in the downtown core, who knows how much of a boost to tourism it could be – without encroaching on wildlife corridors, without the need for infrastructure in environmentally sensitive areas, and hopefully while reducing traffic congestion issues.
