Finally, it’s out there.
At Banff council’s meeting on Monday (Oct. 24) the subject of Parks Canada’s 2017 free pass program was thrown out there in the public domain.
There has been much discussion of Parks’ free pass mandate, as directed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau through Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, as a means of celebrating Canada’s 150th next year.
Some months ago, in this space, we commented that the free Parks pass concept probably fell into the “it seemed like a good idea at the time” category.
At the time, and possibly Trudeau isn’t familiar with sayings like “there are no free rides” or “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” or “nothing in life is free,” the idea of allowing all Canadians to partake of a national park experience seemed like a positive idea.
After all, something for nothing ..? Who doesn’t like a freebie?
But Banff is not a national park in our far north, or in some far-flung region where any increase in visitation is unlikely. No, Banff is located just an hour from a city of a million plus, and is fed by one of the busiest highways in this country.
As it turns out, Banff council is not enamoured with the idea, and rightly so, and has now gone public with its misgivings (front page).
With 2017 now just a couple of months away, Banff is concerned that no action has been taken by Parks to compensate or plan for added hordes visiting the mountain town and national park on the basis of free admittance.
Indeed, dread is likely not too strong a word for the feelings of many, council and citizens alike, in regard to what 2017 may bring.
After all, Banff has struggled with traffic, parking and congestion for some time – brought on by continually increasing numbers of tourists visiting Canada’s flagship national park.
Much like there has been no answer for how Banff, the town, is supposed to deal with mandated two per cent annual increases for Banff, the national park, visitation, there is also no answer for how to deal with even more thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds of thousands?) who will take advantage of the free parks pass.
The thing is, can free 2017 Parks really be considered freebies?
Will Banff Parks personnel be able, or willing, to put in unlimited overtime to deal with the expected crush? Will Banff Mounties be expected to clock overtime to deal with extra traffic, crime, etc? Will the Town of Banff be able to sufficiently deal with an added onslaught to all of its infrastructure?
Then again, how will small businesses in Banff, already overburdened by the sheer numbers entering the park, cope with further increases? As it is, Banff businesses are struggling to hire and retain staff and ensure some kind of positive experience for customers.
Or will 2017, with more and more and more visitors pouring in, finally see the point reached where the vaunted ‘Banff visitor experience’ becomes a negative, rather than a positive one, based on gridlock traffic, lack of parking, lineups for everything and sidewalks spilling over with tourists?
We can’t wait to see where discussions between Banff, the town, and Banff, the national park go in regard to the free pass situation.
In the end, 2017 could be a looooong year.
