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LETTER: Banff punishing vehicles by lowering speed limits

Editor: After reading an article in the paper, I wanted to send a letter so everyone can read my opinion on what the Town of Banff is proposing for the 30 kilometre-an-hour speed limit bylaw.

Editor:

After reading an article in the paper, I wanted to send a letter so everyone can read my opinion on what the Town of Banff is proposing for the 30 kilometre-an-hour speed limit bylaw. I don’t understand why this is being considered or why this is even be talked about.

As I grew older and rode a bike or scooter to go to school, my parents always told me stay away from the busy streets of Banff because of traffic. If you had to cross the roads to get to school, you either followed the traffic signs, lights or the pedestrian crosswalks and took the bike paths and sidewalks where ever you could.

I have not seen one bike follow the rules of the road. Cyclists and skateboarders hog the whole lane, get in the way of cars, run through stop signs and red lights. When Banff Avenue is open, pedestrians are jaywalking, don't follow the crosswalks or the lights, but yet the Town of Banff wants to punish cars by changing speed limits and tell drivers we have to look out for pedestrians, bikers, and skateboarders when cars and buses are the biggest thing on the road!

My question to the Town of Banff is, we're ticketing cars for parking incorrectly, speeding, going through stop signs and now changing speed limits, but we're not punishing everyone else!

I know one town councillor who rides their bike every morning to work, doesn’t follow the rules of the road and isn’t being safe, but this person is the front runner to change things.

To change the speed limit to 30 km/h for safety reasons, in my opinion, and I share the same view with many residents in both Banff and Canmore, is a joke!

It's not about safety, it's about 'let’s see how many tickets we can charge to get more revenue.'

The speed limits on Mount Norquay Road and Banff Avenue from Moose Street to out-of-town, Saint Julian Road, Mountain Avenue, Spray Avenue, Cave Avenue, Tunnel Mountain Road and Buffalo Street should either be left to 40 km/h or returned to 50 km/h because they are the most freeflowing streets in the town.

Everywhere else you can’t even go past 30 km/h and pushing 40 km/h is a stretch because you have to worry about traffic lights, stop signs, pedestrians and other cars.

Quit punishing cars. They aren’t the problem. It’s the Town of Banff creating the problems that are making it unsafe.

Landan Semenok,

Canmore

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