It’s a good thing Canada’s 150th birthday celebration isn’t until 2017.
Judging by the hordes of tourists that descended on Banff, the town, and Banff, the national park, last weekend, next year, free Parks Canada passes will almost certainly result in a boost in the hordes’ numbers.
Which gives Banff (the town) residents, businesses and accommodation providers and Banff the national park another few months to prepare and plan and for the onslaught – if possible.
The trouble is, there’s no doubt Canada’s 150th will be a year full of memorable celebrations, special events, parties and get togethers across the country, but we wonder how much thought was given to the idea of what free Parks passes might mean to already massively popular mountain parks like Banff.
Let’s face it, national parks like Auyuittuq on Baffin Island won’t see much of an increase in visitation, even with free passes. But for Banff, the town and national park combined, the impact may well be massive.
Visitors who balk at paying a day fee to drive out from Calgary for lunch and a shopping excursion, say, or families that shy away from a $107 annual fee, may well take it upon themselves to make multiple visits due to the free passes being offered.
Based on an already upward trend in tourism in Banff, free passes may well boost that number to the unmanageable.
Worse yet, and this is already a complaint heard from some people, the much-discussed and targeted Banff visitor experience may become a negative one where people avoid it due to overcrowding or a general feeling of ‘busy-ness’ that is not conducive to an enjoyable holiday.
Time will tell, but clearly, the municipality and Parks will have to continue, or step up, efforts like transit initiatives to move people around and reduce traffic congestion and parking issues.
We doubt it’s in Parks Canada’s budget to up staffing levels in 2017 to cope with increased visitation, so all staff, from those manning the entrance gates to maintenance and the warden service, may be staring overtime in the face.
A challenging year is ahead, no question.
Why the road kill?
After a period of time where bears, it seemed, had enjoyed something of an amnesty when it came to being killed on our roads, it seems to be over.
These days, Dead Man’s Flats appears to be growing in popularity as a location for black and grizzly bears alike to be struck and killed on the Trans-Canada.
The latest incident, of course, is that of a grizzly cub which recently enjoyed a tour of Cochrane, including a chicken coop and beehive raid, before being relocated to the Fallen Timber area (page 12). A black bear was also killed on the highway near the hamlet this week.
The grizzly cub had its 15 minutes of fame with national media after its Cochrane exposure, but as often happens when a bear is relocated, fame was fleeting. In this case, the cub was not killed by a dominant male into whose territory it was located – rather, it joined what appears to be a growing list of wildlife fatalities at Dead Man’s.
Based on clearing and development on the hamlet side of a wildlife underpass east of Dead Man’s Flats, one wonders if bears are now shying away from the underpass and trying to find other ways to cross the highway instead; to their peril.
Concerns from environmental groups that development would affect the usefulness of said underpass now seem to be well warranted.
