Door-knocking, November 2 - 16

I have to confess that I've slowed down a lot in the past two weeks.  With early sunsets, budget meetings and the Mountain Festivals, it's been tough to fit in enough door-knocking time.  However, I have visited 82 doors on Squirrel, Marten, Elk, Bighorn and Lynx over the past two weeks, and here's what I've been hearing ...

Quite a few people mentioned being generally happy with town activities, with the new look of Banff Avenue heading the list of plusses.  Several people also mentioned the recycling program and the new busses.  Items that were praised by individual households:

• an improvement in late-night noise
• snow removal:  "it's outstanding!"
• the skateboard park
• the new crosswalk at Banff and Fox

In this diverse neighbourhood, the issues varied from household to household.  Concerns, suggestions and issues mentioned by individual households were:

• a wish for more special events such as Bike Fest, Dragon Boats
• a concern that bottle-pickers are losing income because of the new blue bins
• a request for handicapped parking stalls on Banff Avenue
• a request for a pedestrian-only Banff Avenue
• a concern that the garbage bin transition was a bit rough, although OK now
• a request for more frequent large item pickups - or the opportunity to book large item pickup by appointment
• a plea for financial prudence
• a concern about the visibility on Banff Avenue - a suggestion that the trees should all be deciduous, no confiers
• a request for more flowering trees such as Maydays
• a request for more enforcement related to skateboarders and cyclists on the sidewalks
• a concern about the proposed $5,000 contribution from the seniors towards the cost of running their building
• a request for community bikes - a "green bike" system
• a request for more visible crosswalk markings
• a plea for affordable housing
• a concern about negligent landlords who don't maintain their rental accommodation
• a request for more events that involve closing Banff Avenue to traffic
• a concern about the visibility and timeliness of sandwich board signage placed before snow removals
• a hope for Rec Centre renovations. 

 Two households mentioned Banff Live as a concern, and two households requested an outdoor skating rink, preferably in the downtown.