Monday marks an important voting day for the town of Banff, Alta., as the future of its annual pedestrian zone will be determined following a public vote.
With the opportunity to hit the polls until 8 p.m., residents of the town will choose whether or not to support their council’s decision to close a section of Banff Avenue to vehicles every year from the May long weekend until the Thanksgiving long weekend.
The car-free pedestrian zone has become a divisive topic for locals.
Those in favour of the road closure say it benefits tourism, mitigates parking problems and limits vehicle traffic. But those against it have said it only moves traffic elsewhere, disrupting residential streets, and creates more of a footprint for commercial activity in the national park.
The road closure was first piloted in 2022 as a pandemic-era measure. Then, Banff’s town council voted to make the two-block pedestrian zone an annual feature.
However, that decision was stalled in January 2024, when council received a letter from Parks Canada that questioned the use of patios and other commercial developments along the publicly owned street where the zone is set up.
What’s more, some of those not in favour of the car-free zone say they felt as though they didn’t have a say in the road closure.
As a result, in mid-April 2024, some residents circulated a petition calling for council to repeal the annual pedestrian zone decision. That petition received over 1,000 signatures and, under the stipulations of Alberta’s Municipal Government Act, forced council to take the decision to a vote of the electors.
Now, eligible voters who reside in Banff will cast their vote on whether they support town council’s decision to create a pedestrian corridor or if they want the road to be open for vehicles on Monday.
Monday’s official voting day comes after three rounds of advance voting dates that took place throughout July.