“Sad to see this go away”: Albertans react after Banff votes “No” to pedestrian zone

Residents of the Town of Banff have voted no to keeping a pedestrian zone on Banff Avenue in the summer, which has caused plenty of reaction from residents and visitors alike.

The vote on whether or not to continue operating a pedestrian zone on Banff Avenue took place last night. A total of 2,523 votes were cast, with 1,194 residents voting “yes” to the pedestrian zone and 1,328 voting against it.

Because of the result, Banff Town Council must pass a bylaw to rescind the original decision to have the annual summer pedestrian zone.

“The pedestrian zone public amenities will be dismantled starting in the days immediately after the bylaw is passed, including removal of extra public seating, bicycle parking and flower planters,” the Town of Banff wrote.

“Restaurant patios and retail displays will be dismantled, followed by changing traffic light signal timing at Wolf Street, Buffalo Street and coordination with lights on Spray Avenue.”

“Finally, the gates that allow Roam Transit to enter the pedestrian zone will be removed along with the large planter barricades at each end of the pedestrian zone and on Caribou Street, and the road will be reopened to all vehicles.”

The decision to operate a pedestrian zone on Banff Avenue started in 2020 as a response to COVID-19 and continued through the pandemic. It was maintained as a pilot in 2022-23.

In January 2024, Banff Town Council voted to make the annual pedestrian zone a permanent summer feature from the May long weekend to the Thanksgiving long weekend. In March, however, a petition to overturn the decision to have an annual pedestrian zone was submitted to the Town of Banff.

Petitioners were mainly opposed to the impacts of traffic detoured off Banff Avenue. Because a provincially legislated petition was submitted, Banff town council had to overturn the decision either or put it to a vote.

But while a slim majority of residents voted no, commenters on a post in the Banff subreddit about the pedestrian zone have plenty to say about the decision, and many are not happy.