Saturday afternoon in Middle Springs 2

It was a blustery, windy afternoon in Middle Springs 2 yesterday, but warm welcomes at the doors made up for it!  I must have been on the trail of the Blake Richards team, because I generally found his brochure in the doors of the houses where no one was home.

What are people in the upper part of Middle Springs 2 happy about?  The most frequently mentioned items were (you guessed it!) the look of the new Banff Avenue, the recycling/organics programs, the proposed wayfinding program, and the new lighted crosswalk at Fox Street.  Hoping that the pedestrian bridge project would go ahead was mentioned by two households.

"Likes" mentioned by individual households included:

• the new busses
• the town making an effort to be progressive
• trying something new like Banff Live

Two households mentioned that they like the Bill Peyto signs, and hope they stay in place.  Two households mentioned concerns about the visibility/safety of sidewalks, especially those used by lots of children, plus the one between Gourlay's and the liquor store, plus the one between Bumpers and the Inns of Banff.  Two households mentioned a hope that the new Rec Centre will go ahead - one adding that they believe it will be important for regional tourism.

Concerns, issues and areas for improvement that were mentioned by individual households were:

• the need for more day care spaces
• the need to go the extra mile for aesthetics:  flowers, lights, etc.
• disappointment with the decision about Cave Avenue density
• a hope that Council is actively pursuing resort municipality status and alternate revenue
• a request to work on trails in the lands adjacent to the Town
• a suggestion that we paint parking spaces more carefully, so that people don't take up two spots
• a suggestion that we designate the Bear Street parking lot for residents only
• concerns about the design of Banff Avenue:  tree clumps near the intersections, mid-block crossings, the median in front of the Legion.
• a request for differential mill rate for bare land condominiums, because they have to pay through their condo fees for snow ploughing and street lighting.
• a suggestion for a kids' "spray park" in Central Park in the summer
• a suggestion for a sign at Mountain Avenue and Middle Springs Drive, to inform visitors of the remaining distance to the Upper Hot Springs -- apparently the residents get asked this question a lot.
• a request for a higher standard of snowclearing on both streets and sidewalks
• a request for repairs to the fence between Mid Springs 2 and the wildlife corridor.
• a suggestion that transit would be better with more and smaller busses.