Shared Space in Banff: Best Practices Walking Tour

In late May, Fotenn staff spent an incredible couple of days in Banff. We were fortunate enough to participate in a walking tour of the urban interventions led by Planning & Development staff: Darren Enns, Director of Planning & Development and Dave Michaels, Manager of Development Services.

During the walking tour, we learned about urban interventions in the downtown core, including the ongoing and previous iterating that was refining and developing a common look and feel.

Fotenn Planner Tamara Nahal reflected on the urban design, landscape architecture, and urban planning interventions during our walking tour:

Bear Street

Bear Street is an example of what you can achieve with a shared street. Curbs were eliminated and pedestrian movement flows freely. Chicanes of patios and permanent landscape features slow the few drivers who venture forth.

Landscaping was at the forefront of the redesign and scattered about with Rundle rocks that served as both an edge and seating. There were plenty of trees and plants to add greenery. This was permanent and intentional, not a temporary quick build.

For more information about the Bear St reconstruction completed in July 2021, see the Town of Banff webpage on the topic.

Banff Avenue

Banff Avenue was also a shared street, but it functioned and was constructed a little differently. The curbs were retained and this one had less free-floating pedestrian movement. We still observed plenty of mid-block crossings, but not quite at the same level as Bear Street.

Banff Ave is a shared street with public transit and people walking, cycling, and driving. The bus proceeds slowly and carefully. Despite the slow speeds, this was faster than detouring; which the local transit agency, Roam Transit, tried first.

Access to and from Banff Ave is restricted with a swing gate. Bus drivers can open with the push of a button. The gates were narrowed in the latest iteration and has the added benefit of being wide enough for people cycling to get through.

Active and public transportation in and around Banff

Visitors to Banff are encouraged to park their cars and get around by public transit, walking, and cycling.

Roam Transit operates bus routes that connect the city centre with popular tourist destinations and hotels. Note the bike rack inside the bus!

Fotenn staff used public transit to get to many popular hiking and sightseeing destinations, including the nearby Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise. Service was every 20 minutes during the peak daytime hours, which provided enough frequency to maximize our sightseeing.

?Conclusion

Seeing shared spaces that really work is amazing. Quick build projects absolutely have their time and place, but there's something that really makes a project shine when it's designed and built to be permanent. Too often, we spend so much time wringing our hands over how we can create the best design/ policy as quickly as possible and with as little money as possible.

?Hearing about how the Town of Banff learned, iterated, and improved was one of the best parts of the walking tour.

?There’s something to be said about implementing a permanent change to the street where you put your best foot forward and then making adjustments to improve it.

?A HUGE thank you goes out to the Planning and Development staff who took time from their days to share how these projects came to be.