$23-million project controversial, but now popular with residents and tourists
Michele Gurney
Sun
An all-hybrid bus fleet is part of the Town of Banff’s commitment to the environment. Even the lighting in the downtown core is designed so it is possible to see the stars without straining. – PHOTOS BY: TOWN OF BANFF
Curved arm rests mimic the look of bighorn sheep
A Banff artist has designed bronze sidewalk art featuring a buffalo, a wolf and other wildlife.
BANFF, Alta. — Banff Avenue has a new look.
If you’re like me, you used to go to Banff on your summer holiday and, if you were lucky, on school ski trips.
Most of us have memories of never wandering too far from Tunnel Mountain Campground, wondering whether Minnewanka Loop really was a loop, and buying more candy than one child should consume in a year on an early Saturday morning trek to Welch’s.
Today, the walk down Banff Avenue is distinctly different. The Town of Banff has just wrapped up a $23-million project called Banff Refreshing.
The town’s underground infrastructure — water and sewer pipes — was more than 100 years old and needed to be replaced. So the town took the opportunity to refresh its streetscape to make it more pedestrian-friendly and reflective of a street in a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“The street was devoid of trees and places for people to sit and take in the views,” says Randall McKay, Banff’s planning and development manager.
Now, he says, “it’s two blocks of heaven.” And he’s not the only one who thinks Banff is better than ever. Visitors and residents are lauding Banff Refreshing.
Town officials are hearing positive comments from Banff Avenue business and residents who weren’t so supportive of the infrastructure plan when they realized how it might affect their daily lives for 15 months while construction was underway.
Now that it’s finished, everyone is happy. The sidewalks are twice as wide, so the locals are no longer forced to use the alleys to escape the crowds at the height of summer. There are twice as many crosswalks, so you can easily cut across to favourite restaurants and shops.
A mix of indigenous trees in landscaping beds is framed by large Rundlestone boulders from a local quarry. New street furniture has metal arm rests shaped to mimic the horns of the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. New lighting, with toppers, has been designed to reflect tree tops and the turrets of the famed Banff Springs Hotel.
Lights are also considerate of night-sky viewing (yes, you can actually see the Big Dipper from a downtown core in Canada). Solar-panelled trash compactor cans reduce garbage pickup.
The numbers of bike racks are up and street parking is out, leaving Banff Avenue with great sight lines. A local artist designed bronze sidewalk art featuring caribou, wolf and buffalo who guard their respective street corners.
Everything is custom and feels like it belongs here, says McKay, who believes Banff has created one of the most successful pedestrian environments in North America.
He’s also quick to point out that although Banff is redeveloping parts of the town, growth is being managed within a finite footprint that will never be expanded. Banff’s development is moving ahead with a greater consciousness of how much space people should take up within one of the most significant protected areas in the world. The philosophy takes into account how buses, buildings and even garbage bins fit within the landscape; how materials on a street reflect its national park surroundings.
While many residents believe businesses like the Gap or Tony Roma’s don’t belong in Banff, town officials are trying to manage commercial growth to maintain the right mix of mom-and-pop shops with more well-known chains.
The Refreshing plan was developed in the early ’90s by world-renowned landscape architects Design Workshop, based in Aspen, and Landplan and Associates in Calgary.
Because Banff didn’t have the funding then, to move the project forward, four test sites were installed over a 10-year period. This allowed the town to try different materials, watching how products and colours weathered and checking to see how certain plants thrived or failed.
The process served the town well when it refined the plan in 2001. Thanks to a special grant from the provincial government, Banff was able to bring its prototypes to life this summer. The result is breathtaking.
“We are fortunate in terms of what we had to work with,” says McKay. “The natural beauty of the park defines and shapes the town. The street was tired. We needed to refresh the main street to remain competitive with other mountain resorts throughout the world. The street now celebrates our authentic sense of place and will stand the test of time,” he says. “We have brought nature back into the built environment.”
Michelle Gurney is communications manager for the Town of Banff
IF YOU GO
– Check out www.banff.ca or www.banfflakelouise.com for the latest news and events. The Parks Canada website, at www.pc.gc.ca/banff, is a great resource to learn more about the history of the area.
– Travel on Roam, Banff’s new public-transit fleet featuring larger-than-life wildlife imagery. Banff is the first community in the country to launch an all-hybrid bus fleet. Trips cost just $2 one way, and buses go to all the town’s sites and attractions.
– To learn more about Banff Live, the all-day concert on Thursday to celebrate Banff Refreshing, visit www.banff.ca
© The Vancouver Sun 2008