Editor:
Sorry we missed the Banff town council meeting on Monday (July 21). Sorry we have been silent. Sorry that people feel so passionately about the paid parking issue and that emotions are running so high.
From our point of view – thanks, council, for trying to find solutions to a nagging dilemma – how to help people get to their chosen destination as quickly as possible.
Cars, trucks, buses – whether we are residents, guests, drivers of delivery trucks or passengers on the tour bus – we have all heard stories of people driving in circles looking for a parking space, people stuck in a back alley while a delivery truck unloads cargo or the frustration of waiting and waiting at the light while someone decides where they really want to go ...We also know that some people become so frustrated with the traffic snarls that they have left town without getting to their destination, or have sworn to never return.
Whether people want to grocery shop or get across the bridge or to soak in the Upper Hot Springs or get to their accommodation at the Banff Springs Hotel, we all have to get through the eye of the needle, our three square blocks of congestion in the downtown core.
For many of us, biking, walking (love the pedestrian bridge option) or riding the bus are great options. Roam bus is a wonderful regional transportation service and we know our decision makers are trying to best serve transportation issues in the Bow Valley.
So to town council members – thanks for trying. Thanks for proposing a paid parking trial period which will help define the factors and dissect the pieces to this tangled web. We care about our town and we also care about democracy and believe in civil process and sincerely thank you for your commitment to public service.
Thanks for trying. On behalf of “the silent ones,” we are looking forward to hearing the results of the paid parking trial after it ends on Oct. 31.
Silent on the sidelines. Believers in public process. Focused on the future.
Erwin and Lorraine Widmer, Marsha Laub, Ray and Mona Seguin and Kathy Arney, Banff
