Town of Banff

Banff Refreshing Speech

Rotary luncheon address 
by Town Manager, Robert Earl Sept. 29, 2005

Thanks for coming.

Who can tell me when this community first began talking about a plan to revitalize downtown Banff?

It’s interesting to point out that a key priority of the very first Town Council was to develop a comprehensive public improvement plan for downtown.

It was apparent – even in the late 80s that other mountain resorts were beginning to provide serious competition for Banff.  This community had the great foresight to recognize that in order to maintain Banff’s profile as a world-renowned, four-season tourist destination, the physical attributes of the downtown streetscape could be improved.

Over 10 years ago, this community rallied together – many of you likely added your own input – to create a vision for the enhancement of downtown Banff. 

Today, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you about one of the most exciting projects we’re working on at the Town – Banff refreshing. 

This plan is a reflection of the goals and desires of this community. 

This plan was created by the community, for the community.

The primary goals and objectives of the plan speak to six key features including:

• Gateways to Downtown
• Banff Avenue Enhancement
• Connection of Streets and Parking
• Civic Centre and Discovery Place (part of which is the new Town Hall)
• Bow River Greenway
• CPR Station Place

The Town has now officially launched phase I of Banff refreshing.  The 100 and 200 blocks of Banff Avenue represent an $11.4 million investment to reinvigorate downtown.

We know that from an economic development perspective the payback will be much higher.  Data shows that rejuvenation projects like this one can mean significant economic gains in the community. 

In a revitalized space people will stay longer and spend more money.

Just a few weeks ago we shared the first Banff refreshing drawings with businesses on the 100 and 200 blocks and with the community through a public open house.

Today -- because we have just 20 minutes together -- I want to give you a brief overview of the advantages of Banff refreshing. I’m also going to talk to you about the design and about the parking alternatives the Town is exploring to mitigate concerns over the parking changes this initiative will bring about.

This project is about infrastructure first…yet the community vision for Banff refreshing is to create a downtown space that is more pedestrian friendly and more reflective of our natural mountain environment.

As you may or may not know, our underground infrastructure is 95 years old and is nearing the end of its useful life.  Just to replace what we have in the ground now  -- with no street level enhancements --would cost the Town about $10 million.

It makes good economic and business sense to replace this infrastructure now before we have a failure in the system.

All water mains, sanitary sewage collection mains and the storm sewer system will be replaced.

Having to replace this infrastructure presents an opportunity to enhance what you see above ground.  From the new asphalt up…

I’m sure many of you have walked the alleys on a particularly busy day during summer.  You’ve paced outside stores while playing host to relatives and out of town friends who insist on visiting each candy shop – more than once. 

You’ve nearly hit the odd pedestrian as they’ve sprinted out ahead of you while driving down Banff Avenue and you may…and I emphasize may have become frustrated while totally missing your chance to cross the street because the folks in front of you could not decide where they were going next.

The Banff experience is about to become a whole lot better.

How many of you are familiar with the Banff refreshing prototypes in front of the Clock Tower Mall and just outside our door on Bear Street in front of Kellers?

The Town completed these four prototypes in preparation for Banff refreshing.  We learned from each experience and those learnings will be reflected throughout our work on Banff Avenue:

You’re going to see sidewalks that are approximately twice the width they are now.

These walkways will have a textured, non-slip surface and will be bordered by green pre-cast pavers to encourage effective pedestrian movement.

At street corners, you’ll take advantage of larger “flares” that provide a lot more room for pedestrians to move in and out of the intersections.

And once you’re in the intersection, you’ll also have less street to cross. Because of the wider sidewalks, you’ll now cross four lanes as opposed to six.

The curves of street corners have also been changed to enable something as big as a highway bus to make the corners safely.  Emergency and protective services personnel have also been consulted to ensure they can travel safely through intersections.

You’ll be able to take a seat on 20 additional benches, bringing the total from 26 to 46.

You can park your bike in one of 38 bike racks – up from the current 8.

You’ll see far more green, with the planting of White Spruce, Trembling Aspen and Paper Birch in 24 additional planters – taking the total from 11 to 35.

You’ll also be able to sit on large rundlestone boulders at the edges of those newly landscaped areas – providing even more seating for those who want to enjoy the view as they spend more time downtown.

We’ll now have transit bays in each block with pick up and drop off bays also placed at intervals along both sides of the Avenue. 

Pedestrians will be able to take advantage of new mid block crossings.

Improved directional signage will help visitors…and the odd local, find their way around.

And in the evening, you’ll see a nice even white light all along the avenue as we add enhanced custom, high-efficiency fixtures.  This will be a nice change from the current yellow light you see.

All of these features have been distinctly designed to reflect the elements of our surrounding landscapes.

So when is all this going to take place…

We have carefully planned for construction to have the least impact possible on the visitor experience.

Work on the east side of the 100 and 200 blocks will take place from April to the end of June in 2006.

Work on the west side of the 100 and 200 block will take place from April to the end of June in 2007.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane but will still make its way down Banff Avenue.

In closing, I do want to share our action plan on some of the issues brought forward through the public engagement process.  Over the past few weeks we confirmed there is great support for Banff refreshing.

That said, we did identify additional concerns in the community – those centred around three key themes:

• The need for a parking plan to coincide with work on the 100 and 200 blocks.To address this we have now received; Council direction to proceed with the design and development of a new parking structure in the downtown core…we will also work to secure 100 replacement parking stalls in Cascade Plaza while construction is underway.
• The second theme is the need to review Town of Banff policies around sidewalk maintenance – this maintenance is currently the responsibility of business owners. However, they have expressed concerns about the additional work wider sidewalks will require. To address this, we are going review our bylaws to determine the best solution for business owners.
• And the third item is the need for relaxed signage guidelines to ensure clear access to businesses while construction is underway.

The Town will work with businesses to create construction signage that will clearly direct people to businesses.  Of course the Town will also cover the costs for this.

Our number one priority now…and it will remain a priority throughout Banff refreshing…is communication.

The Town has created a communication plan spanning three years to ensure all stakeholders – from residents, to business… to visitors -- have solid awareness of this project, it’s implications and the steps we’re taking to mitigate any challenges.

We have identified a number of tactics to achieve this…everything from providing information to Tour Operators, to visitors at the Park Gate and as they come into town, to improved signage to ensure visitors can easily identify and get into businesses. 

The Town will do everything it can to ensure its business as usual while this work is underway.  In fact, we will position Banff refreshing as an attraction and will be encouraging visitors to come and see what’s happening in downtown Banff. 

That’s really a quick overview of Banff refreshing.  Today, I’ll leave you with a detailed drawing of both the 100 and 200 blocks, and these images that show what the new lights, benches and landscaping will look like.

I’d like to open the floor to questions now…