Editor:
Roads are mainly built for wheel-based transportation. In urban areas, those roads are often enhanced with sidewalks for pedestrians. Banff is fortunate to have good-sized sidewalks on the two downtown blocks – this is our pedestrian zone.
Let’s be honest, most of our visitors always want to walk on the sidewalks in order to not miss the window displays and important entrances to stores, restaurants and malls. Even though one sees the occasional person stepping onto the closed road to take a picture of Cascade Mountain, some bikers – with and without the ‘e’ – and skateboarders, all often with excess speed, find their way along this newfound territory.
The closed-off streets are underused. The number of visitors actually walking on the pavement of those streets can never justify the general traffic disruptions and inconveniences that we have been experiencing over the last few summers.
Why not compromise?
1. Left lane for motor vehicles with reduced speed, including e-bikes.
2. Right lane for public transport and a designated bike/scooter/skate lane.
3. No wheels on sidewalks.
4. Ground-level restaurants may have one row of tables on the sidewalk, upstairs establishments are allowed to display a sandwich board on the sidewalk.
Investing in educating our downtown users on wheels and enforcing those rules would be paramount.
Would the comments ‘they are so organized in Banff’ add to a positive visitors’ experience? We do have a pedestrian zone, think about it when you vote next month.
Werner Zullig,
Banff
