Dowmtown Banff
Banff Avenue has a new look.
If you're like me, you used to go to Banff on your summer holiday and,
if you were lucky, on school ski trips.
Most of us have memories of never wandering too far from
Tunnel Mountain Campground, wondering whether
Minnewanka Loop really was a loop,
and buying more candy than one child should consume
in a year on an early Saturday morning trek to Welch's.
Today, the walk down Banff Avenue is distinctly different.
The Town of Banff has just wrapped up a $23-million project
called Banff Refreshing.
The town's underground infrastructure -- water and sewer pipes --
was more than 100 years old and needed to be replaced.
So the town took the opportunity to refresh its streetscape
to make it more pedestrian-friendly and reflective of a street
in a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
"The street was devoid of trees and places for people
to sit and take in the views," says Randall McKay,
Banff's planning and development manager.
Now, he says, "It's two blocks of heaven."
And he's not the only one who thinks Banff is better than ever.
Visitors and residents are lauding Banff Refreshing.
On a quick walk down the bustling two blocks you'll
hear visitors chatting on cellphones, telling friends
to come and take a look.
Town officials are hearing positive comments from
Banff Avenue business and residents who weren't so
supportive of the infrastructure plan when
they realized how it might affect their daily lives for
15 months while construction was underway.
Now that it's finished, everyone is happy.
The sidewalks are twice as wide, so the locals are no longer
forced to use the alleys to escape the crowds at the height of summer.
There are twice as many crosswalks, so you can easily cut across to favourite restaurants and shops.
A mix of indigenous trees in landscaping beds is framed by
large Rundlestone boulders from a local quarry. New street furniture
has metal arm rests shaped to mimic the horns of the Rocky Mountain
bighorn sheep. New lighting, with toppers, has been designed
to reflect tree tops and the turrets of the famed Banff Springs Hotel.
Lights are also considerate of night-sky viewing
(yes, you can actually see the Big Dipper from a downtown core in Canada).
Solar-panelled garbage bins reduce garbage pickup.
The numbers of bike racks are up and street parking is out,
leaving Banff Avenue with great sight lines.
A local artist designed bronze sidewalk art featuring caribou,
wolf and buffalo who guard their respective street corners.
Everything is custom and feels like it belongs here, says McKay,
who believes Banff has created one of
the most successful pedestrian environments in North America.
He's also quick to point out that although Banff
is redeveloping parts of the town, growth is
being managed within a finite footprint that will never be expanded.
Banff's development is moving ahead
with a greater consciousness of how much space people
should take up within one of the most significan
t protected areas in the world.
The philosophy takes into account how buses,
buildings and even garbage bins fit within the landscape;
how materials on a street reflect its national park surroundings.
While many residents believe businesses like the Gap or Tony Roma's
don't belong in Banff,
town officials are trying to manage commercial
growth to maintain the right mix of mom-and-pop
shops with more well-known chains.
The Refreshing plan was developed in the early
'90s by world-renowned landscape architects Design Workshop,
based in Aspen, and Landplan and Associates in Calgary.
Because Banff didn't have the funding to move the project forward,
four test sites were installed over a 10-year period.
This allowed the town to try different materials, watching
how products and colours weathered and checking
to see how certain plants thrived or failed
in the severe mountain environment.
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Cowgirl in PINK~
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SWEET SHOP~
Griaal house~
I love pugs~
DOGS~
Guard pug on duty~
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candy shop~
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Yu Ting's favorite stroe~
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I'm proud to be a Canadian~
How lucky we were~There were double rainbows while
we were shopping after dinner~
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At Root store~
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The result is breathtaking.
"We are fortunate in terms of what we had to work with,
" says McKay.
"The natural beauty of the park defines and shapes the town.
"Delaying the project was a blessing in disguise, since testing
the plan allowed us to pick the best aspects and
implement them.
The street was tired.
We needed to refresh the main street to remain competitive
with other mountain resorts throughout the world.
"The street now celebrates our authentic sense of place
and will stand the test of time," he says.
"We have brought nature back into the built environment."
double rainbows~
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