Door-knocking in the Spruce/Cougar area

Door-knocking is getting more challenging now that we've gone back to standard time.  Those early evenings mean that I'm lucky to get in a half-hour on week-nights!  However, here's a summary of what I heard while doing 66 doors in the Spruce/Cougar area this past week.

In general, this is a contented group of citizens, with several households saying that they are generally pleased with the Town's services and activities, and one going so far as to say "What do I like?  Everything!".  The new blue bins and the recycling program were the specific items that got the most positive mentions. 

Individual households also mentioned:

• The new look of Banff Avenue
• the lighted crosswalk at Fox
• the "greening of the Town" -- environmental initiatives in general
• the town's efforts to "keep tourism happening"
• the sundry waste advertising campaign:  "it's made a difference"

On areas for improvement, two households mentioned late night noise and a request to have the bars close earlier.  Two households mentioned community standards:  messy private lots in their neighbourhood.  Two households mentioned the need for more parking downtown.  Individual households mentioned:

• the need to get rid of our "party town" reputation
• a request for more information about recycling accessories, such as the stackable bins
• a hope that the town will keep trying to diminish the problem of oversize waste stacked by the garbage bins
• a request for more communication from the town
• a suggestion that the town install more of the lighted sidewalks
• a concern about the current push to remove crabapple trees, and a hope that another solution can be found
• a concern about lighting around the mid-block crosswalks and on the sidewalks to the hotel district
• a request for even more recycling bins, and more organics locations
• a concern about the new Rec Centre project:  "we don't have the dollars, and there are lots of existing facilities in town"
• a concern about Banff Live
• a request for bylaw enforcement coverage in the evenings:  "everyone knows what time they go off shift"
• a hope that businesses will become more active in recycling
• a wish that dog-owners would "stoop and scoop" more
• a concern about snow removal in residential areas:  "Graders are an endangered species"
• concerns about the design of the new Banff Avenue:  corner bulges, mid-block crossings, handicapped parking
• concerns about icy sidewalks in winter, and especially the need for more sanding on the wheelchair corner cuts