Editor:
I’d like to respond to Simon Moffatt’s letter “Highly supportive of Banff Avenue pedestrian zone” in the June 6 edition of the Outlook.
I don’t know how long he has been in Banff nor do I know you, but I am glad you can call Banff home wherever home is for you. Some of the things you wrote about kind of set me back a bit as a long-time local of 28 years. People who support the pedestrian zone like yourself are missing the point of why the petition was signed in the first place.
Nobody in town, as far as I know, dislikes the pedestrian zone itself, at least that’s the vibe I am getting from a lot of people I know. It’s the issues it causes when Banff Avenue is closed.
I encourage you some time to go see how bad traffic congestion is everywhere. The Town of Banff refuses to fix the issues, so that the pedestrian zone can be a success like adding another lane to the bridge, fixing the traffic lights on Buffalo Street to allow traffic to move, fixing parking and adding more buses.
You mentioned the integrity of the national park and preserving the national park. In all my years of being here, it has always been that way and it will continue that way. Look into the sky, the Bow Valley is the bluest sky in Canada because we don’t have much pollution and the trees are doing their job to help us have clean air.
To say that nobody will come to Banff because there isn’t a pedestrian zone is a silly thing to think and say because it’s nonsense and completely off base. People come to Banff because they want to see the mountains, hike them, see all the beauty that comes with it and see all the attractions.
I am tired of our mayor and council making decisions to help businesses make more money and listen to people who don’t live here and make tourists happy with our tax money.
It’s sad to see how Banff has turned greedy from a select number of business owners in town!
Mr. Jim Abelseth said it right in his letter “Not supportive of Banff pedestrian zone” in the June 13 edition of the Outlook, start looking at the big picture instead of thinking about yourself and how it doesn’t affect you is my encouragement.
Landan Semenok,
Banff
