Editor:
Dear friends, neighbours, and community members in the Bow Valley, Community Cruisers is a registered not-for-profit society founded in 2007. Our mission is to promote bicycle use for transportation as a means to improve health, sustainability, and equity in the Bow Valley. We operate volunteer-run community bicycle repair shops in Banff and Canmore. Our organization has 380 members and volunteers located in the Bow Valley.
We are supportive of an ongoing, annual summer implementation of a downtown pedestrian zone in Banff. We value the option to travel along Banff Avenue in a comfortable and welcoming space, accessible to people of all ages and abilities, especially for folks who are less confident and not able to bike in unprotected spaces with heavy vehicle volumes, and who would not normally bike for transportation.
When the downtown pedestrian zone is open, we are heartened to see families biking together, kids in town travelling to Banff Elementary School and Banff Community High School by foot, bike, scooter, and skateboard, seniors on the big red ride bike, and locals going to work – all enjoying a safer Banff Avenue.
Millions of visitors are back to visit the Bow Valley.
When they arrive in Banff, we’ve observed many people choosing to park their cars and get around by transit, bike, scooter, skateboard, wheelchair, or on foot, reducing vehicle congestion in town. The proactive social media campaigns, signage in town, the bike valet, and staff on the ground, coupled with four-way stops on side streets and the 30km/h speed limit, are making a difference for a more bike-friendly Banff.
We are hopeful that the plebiscite in August will result in an ongoing, annual summer implementation of the downtown pedestrian zone and will continue to support active transportation and a healthy, equitable and inclusive community.
Jen Tweddell,
Board Chair, Community Cruisers,
Canmore
