Editor: Parks Canada’s policy to increase visitation by two per cent per year and to enhance visitor experience is totally irrational and illogical.
Cramming more and more people into the national park with endless special events has the opposite effect. The park experience will be diminished.
What kind of visitor experience do they have in mind? Is it increased lineups at the park gates, more bumper to bumper traffic going to and from the gondola, overcrowded attraction sites, pedestrian congestion and traffic on Banff’s main street, not enough parking, more tour buses, more hotels, more wildlife encounters, more air pollution, more water usage and sewage treatment, more backcountry mishaps and lack of service due to staff shortages?
Let’s not forget the push for train service to the Bow Valley. Drivers will still come to the mountains in their motorhomes, camper vans, cars with bicycles, surfboards and other toys, and motorcycles.
Then there’s the experience of congested hiking and mountain bike trails. We already see a two per cent increase in visitation from Calgary and visitors from other countries. Local residents in Canmore and Banff try to stay away from congested and overcrowded areas on weekends.
People who make these decisions on our behalf, and not always to our benefit, will not get community support when it is needed. We have surpassed the tipping point. When you hear someone saying they feel like leaving the Bow Valley, then you know there is a problem.
EileenPatterson,
Canmore
