Editor:
I am disappointed in the Town of Banff administration and council once again deciding to close down Banff Avenue for so a huge buffet line of tables can come out for restaurants and many clothing stores to bring out more T-shirts next summer.
I understand 2020 has been a tough for everyone and it will probably continue into 2021, but at what point is enough money being spent by local government?
The Town of Banff has spent tons of money on a new realignment of Banff Avenue to make it safer for pedestrians and eliminate tons of parking.
It also took out right hand turn lanes to make a double arrows and yet we want continue closing down a main area of Banff that is the only street honestly that can handle summer traffic. We want to divert heavy amounts of traffic onto Beaver and Muskrat streets, which by the way I don’t know how they can get away with that when those are residential streets and I thought there were bylaws for noise?
We all know what Lynx Street is like as well and who knows when Bear Street is going to open and also will Caribou be open? Will Wolf Street be open? Also spent a lot of money on a new controversial Bear Street as well.
This past summer, the transit buses couldn’t get around those side streets, at least from what I saw. With summer 2021 possibly being a little more normal than this past one, we want more grief for the bus drivers?
Trying to get across the bridge to get to the Banff Springs golf course and to seeing my parents after work was a nightmare trying to get through Beaver Street especially on long weekends.
Every person I have talked to, other than the businesses that love this idea because they see money in their eyes, don’t get why some of these decisions are being made and why more money gets spent for things.
One of the main things that visitors had this past summer was trouble finding parking.
And yet this is a town that keeps taking parking away and yet spending more money on parking solutions.
Canmore can handle a closed downtown, because its roads and parking lots are built for the type of traffic and have a good clear round about.
Whistler downtown is a complete walking around with lots of parking and good traffic flow away from downtown and the ski hill.
Folks I know this has been a hard year and business have suffered a lot, we all have. But to me in my eyes we are continuing to please our tourists who only come once in a lifetime and could care less about certain things just want to come and have a good time and be able to find a place to park.
Leave the street alone allow traffic and buses flow. I understand to help businesses back on their feet for the summer after a lockdown, but another year of it closed again?
Landon Semenok,
Canmore
