Editor:
In response to Mr. Greg Christou’s contribution, who wrote in last week’s Outlook that no local he spoke to wants a 150-person staff accommodation facility in his/her neighbourhood, I want to point out that there’s also another side to this coin.
I live in staff accommodation and I can definitely see the objection against the idea of having a large-scale staff accom in an orderly neighbourhood.
But, and I’m changing the subject here only to get back to staff accom later on, Banff is a town inside a national park. When I arrived here, I had expected a town filled with nature-loving people, hikers, sportsmen, artists, theatre people, the outdoorsy types, biologists, bird-spotters, etc.
As a writer, I was going to blend right in. What I found, however, was a town that has the reputation of allegedly being Canada’s STD capital. Bars with security personnel. Bars that blast their music out their doors until 2 a.m.
Four hostels that are doing so well that they can reportedly charge over $40 a night – double the regular hostel rate. Beyond the tourists, Banff Avenue is filled with dubious-looking people.
As an observant travel writer I had never expected to find so much material to write about in such a small town. My book on Banff – which I only decided to write based upon what I found – has reached well over 100 pages and my notebook and I are still having a blast as I walk down the avenue on a daily basis.
But such a town comes with a price tag. It is transient. It attracts folks who are willing to work for $12 per hour. Companies are forever struggling to find and keep staff. And staff housing is inherent in Banff’s housing shortage.
Banff is what its population wants it to be. It can either be Canada’s STD capital, or the world’s health capital. You can either put a fast food restaurant inside your national park, or a world-renowned chiropractor that people are lining up for. You can either serve beer, or premium fresh orange juice with four drops of oregano oil. There are choices.
Banff is what it is at present, but other options exist. Being a NIMBY is perfectly normal as it is a very human reaction to threatening circumstances, but there simply is not that much space inside a national park for such feelings.
It means either putting up with the reality, or setting the wheels in motion towards Banff’s next image. I would love to write about that, too.
Jeroen Vogel,
Banff
