Deja vu all over again - door-knocking in Valleyview Sept. 11

As I promised in my September 7 entry, I have started door-to-door again, just as I did during the election.  And - as I suspected - people have a lot more to say to me now that I am a councillor and not just a candidate.

It was beautiful weather last evening, and a perfect time to visit with people.  Most seemed interested and pleased when I explained why I was at their doors -- there were lots of wry chuckles when I noted the comments from last year, that "We only see politicians on our doorsteps when they want our votes".

I asked people what they like about what the Town is doing, and whether they had any suggestions for areas where we could improve.  This is not in any way a scientific survey - it's just a check-in for my own information, to hear from people on their own turf, in their own words.  I also checked in with people who already receive my email newsletter to see whether it's useful to them, and signed up others who want to join the email list.  

Even people who had lots to say about areas for improvement generally added that they are mostly pleased with the services the Town provides.  It was common to hear something along the lines of "I'm concerned about X, but in general things are good".

The ROAM transit busses scored big on the plus side:  people said they "look stunning", "make us proud", "smell nice".  Several people also commented on the look of Banff Avenue, saying they like the way it's turning out, and they are happy to hear the September 24 end date.  Waste management got the nod as well - people applauding the recycling program, although some are concerned about managing the transition to fewer bins that's going on right now, even though this doesn't affect Valleyview as directly.  Central Park was praised as a well-set-up facility for outdoor weddings.

In terms of suggestions for improvement, because of the timing of my visit, Banff Live was top of mind for several of the folks I spoke to and got a lengthy mention at six doors.  People also talked about whether the municipal government should be marketing to visitors, whether we're attempting to make Banff into something it's not, whether we might be able instead to take advantage of our natural assets, which are becoming more and more rare in the rest of the world.   

Three households also mentioned the pedestrian bridge and their opposition to the proposed location.

Ideas for improvement that got individual mentions were:

• the hydraulic fluid staining the ground under many older garbage bins
• need for more activities for families
• need to know what we're accomplishing on the GHG reduction part of the Community Plan
• need to add some facilities at Reservoir meadow if we're renting it out for weddings
• a concern about the number of traffic signs in town, and a request to direct some signage at pedestrians so they'll take responsibility for their own safety.
• a concern about light pollution, and a hope that we can protect dark skies
• A suggestion to improve the town's portion of the informal path from the lower corner of Valleyview to Mountain Ave, and a request to put a reminder about speed limits on the Mountain Avenue curve.
• a request for more public parking on the edges of downtown.
• a concern about stop signs around town getting obscured by the growth of nearby foliage.
• a concern about the intersection at Buffalo and Bear not working well, creating congestion.
• a suggestion that Banff Ave should go to a full pedestrian mall format.