Council update email from November 25

PEDESTRIANIZATION CONVERSATION CONTINUED 

I got so many thoughtful and interesting responses to the discussion about potential pedestrianization of Banff Avenue that I’d really like to briefly summarize the ideas here, so that everyone can read everyone else’s thoughts.   

• Almost everyone loves the idea of pedestrian-only zones in the downtown, but recognizes the challenges.
• Several people pointed out that this is not just a discussion about 2 blocks of
  
  Banff Avenue

  , it is a discussion about the primacy of the automobile and how we have to change the way we think about transportation.

• Several people said that this pedestrianization could only be accomplished in conjunction with a complete re-think of how we handle transportation in the town – intercept lots, frequent transit, etc.
• Several people mentioned the traffic impact on
  
  Beaver Street

  and said they didn’t want people living there to be negatively impacted.

• Folks on the south side of the bridge said that back-ups due to the closure had really affected their ability to drive across the bridge during this past summer.
• Several people suggested occasional closures for festive events, or closures on a regular basis, for example:  on summer Sundays, or after 8 pm every day, or one day a month.
• One person suggested changing the traffic/walk lights downtown so that our intersections become “pedestrian scrambles”:  this is a pedestrian crossing system that stops all traffic and allows pedestrians to cross intersections in every direction at the same time.
• A couple of people suggested closing one side and making the other 2-way (ie one lane in each direction).
• And a 15-year-old, thinking outside the box, said that what we should be talking about pedestrianizing is the 200 block of Bear!

 

As you will have read in the paper by now, Council has decided to look at some closures for special events in the summer of 2008. 

BUDGET MEETINGS 

Council’s budget process starts tomorrow (Monday the 26^th).  Here’s the schedule of meetings: 

Council budget meetings are open to the public.  I’ll know more about the agenda for the overall process (for example, which departments will be covered at which sessions) after tomorrow. 

Budget meetings are not the most thrilling things to sit through, so I don’t expect that many of you will come, although I’d be thrilled if you did!  But I hope that you’ll follow the coverage in the papers, and express your opinions to all the councillors. 

STILL WAITING FOR THE PARKADE CONCEPT 

Apparently it’s now coming to Council on December 10! 

COMMERCIAL SPACE ALLOCATION 

As you know, we have a cap on commercial growth.  Before we ran out of space to allot, people interested in doing a commercial development used to enter a random draw to see if they could acquire some of the limited square footage available for additional development.  However, if they didn’t use their allotment within 5 years, it reverted back to the town. 

This has happened recently, with a substantial chunk of square footage that had been allotted to Safeway coming back to the Town. At tomorrow’s meeting, the planning staff is suggesting that we might consider updating the rules for allocation, so that developments that provide essential services for locals would get priority.  I think this is a great idea, and I hope we can make it happen. 

COMMUNITY SATISFACTION SURVEY 

Many of you filled out the town’s survey in September.  You’re probably interested in seeing the overall results – you can find them in this week’s council package.  Just click on:  http://www.banff.ca/town-hall/banff-town-council/council-meetings/dates-agendas/council_meeting_2007_11_26.htm 

then open the council package, and scroll through to page 40.