News Releases

BanffPRIDE Delegation
Council was invited to upcoming BanffPRIDE Week celebrations that will be held in town October 9-13. This is the first year the local organization is hosting week-long activities, including a rainbow flag raising at the Banff Community High School, a hike, a trivia and Queeraoke night, Pride in the Park and the annual party at Wild Bill’s. A full schedule of events can be found at https://facebook.com/banffPRIDE/.

Bow Valley Early Childhood Development
A representative from the Bow Valley Early Childhood Development Coalition highlighted our region’s early development ratings compared to the provincial average, noting some areas where children in the Bow Valley are below the average. Council was invited to attend the Early Childhood Summit on October 27 in Canmore to review the data collected in the Alberta Early Development Instrument Community Profile Report. Community leaders and development experts will examine how Bow Valley children are doing in areas like social competence, language & cognitive development, and emotional maturity and ways to improve development.

Banff Hockey Academy In-Kind Request
Council postponed a decision on the Banff Hockey Academy’s request for modifications to The Fenlands and free use of unoccupied dressing rooms. Council asked Town administration and the hockey academy to work through logistical challenges, and potentially identify policy changes for review by council.

Options for Restricting Smoking Tobacco in Public
Banff Town Council directed administration to prepare a draft bylaw that – if enacted – would restrict tobacco smoking further than existing provincial legislation. The Town will compile public feedback on the draft bylaw for council’s consideration, before any restrictions are enacted.

The restrictions on smoking tobacco potentially include: parks and green spaces; trails and paths; sports fields; outdoor recreational facilities; grounds of town buildings; sidewalks and roads.

Public input on the proposal will be compiled through an online survey. In addition, the Town will consult stakeholders, such as Banff & Lake Louise Tourism, Parks Canada, members of the business community, and the Hospitality Association. The feedback will be brought to council for consideration. If council decides to proceed with a bylaw, a public hearing would be held to compile further input.

Council also directed administration to acquire designation from the Province of Alberta to enforce the existing Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act, in the event that Council does not proceed with a Banff bylaw on tobacco smoking restrictions. Currently, Town bylaw officers are not designated to enforce the provincial law, but local RCMP are able to respond to complaints.

Pedestrian Bridge Lift Station Odour Update
Complaints about odours at the lift station by the pedestrian bridge have dropped following a number of initiatives and improvements at the site. Fats, oils and grease (FOG) as well as non-flushable items like wipes, rages and plastics can become lodged in the sewer system, creating unpleasant odours. For the past five years, administration has been working to reduce the problem doing everything from manually pumping the system to installing a grinder & mixer to reduce the size of solids, and introducing an enzyme/microbe seeding regime to reduce the generation of odour causing gas. No odour complaints have been received in either 2017 or 2018. Administration is also working to educate residents and businesses about the problems associated with pouring FOG down drains to help eliminate clogging issues.

Sidewalk Management & 2018 Inspection
Eighty sidewalk locations that had become trip hazards have been shaved down this year and a number of other locations will be repaired based on severity/priority. A sidewalk condition assessment was conducted this year – something done every two years – to identify defects or hazards that need to be addressed. Areas that require more attention, like full sidewalk rebuilds, will be presented to council during this year’s budget deliberations.

Procedures Bylaw 44-7
Council provided direction on proposed revisions to the draft Procedures Bylaw 44-7 before it’s presented for first reading at an upcoming meeting. The Procedures Bylaw provides a framework for council to use in its decision-making. It brings together parliamentary procedure, legislative requirements and the specific governance preferences of council. It also provides opportunities for residents to access council and have input into the decision-making process. The existing bylaw was adopted in 2013.

Bicycle Theft in Banff
Council is considering whether to invest in an online bike recovery service to help reduce theft in town. 529 Garage is a community-driven bicycle recovery service where bike owners add decals to their bikes with serial numbers and upload the data to an app. That data can then be searched by police, bike shops or residents if they come across a bike believed to have been stolen. The Town of Whistler purchased a 529 Garage package which included 1,500 decals and 1,000 brochures plus supporting material, at a cost of $5,000. Banff council asked for more information on the idea as an option to help reduce the numbers of thefts in town. RCMP report there have been 15 bicycles stolen in Banff so far this year. Theft is trending upwards, with 15 bicycle thefts reported in 2017 and 12 in 2016. RCMP suggest more bikes are stolen than are reported to police, judging by the number of bikes reported stolen on local social media sites. Although bikes stolen in Banff are normally valued between $400 and $500, earlier this month, the first bicycle valued over $5,000 was stolen. The Vancouver Police Department estimates that since the use of the 529 Garage system, bicycle theft has reduced by 30% on Granville Island, a hot spot for this bicycle theft.