BANFF – Tourists flocked to the Banff townsite in record numbers over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
According to the Town of Banff, total combined vehicle volumes at both entrances to town for the week of Dec. 25-31 were 132,179, a 17 per cent increase from the same week in 2022 and up 10 per cent from 2019.
A counter on the west side of the 200 block of Banff Avenue also showed the number of pedestrians was up 15 per cent from 2022 and 14 per cent from 2019.
Town of Banff officials attribute the record numbers to milder weather and the many events hosted throughout the week, including In Search of Christmas Spirit and the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“We know that this was the busiest holiday season, in terms of total vehicles counted for, during that week, and this is based on records going back to 2016,” said Mayor Corrie DiManno.
“We had over 11,000 more vehicles counted at the entrances than in 2019 and 19,000 more vehicles than last year, so we’re seeing a lot more people coming in for that week.”
According to the municipality’s numbers, total vehicle volumes over the Banff Avenue Bridge – a critical pinch point in the road network – were 93,470 from Dec. 25-31, a four per cent increase from 2022 but down five per per cent from 2019.
However, total vehicle volumes on Mountain Avenue with tourists coming back and forth from tourist attractions at the gondola and hot springs on Sulphur Mountain were 34,065, a 22 per cent increase from 2022 and a 15 per cent jump from 2019.
Dec. 28-30 each had more than 20,000 vehicles per day, while during the same time frame last year, there were no 20,000-vehicle days and only one in 2019.
DiManno said the most significant traffic issues were on Saturday, Dec. 30, with bumper-to-bumper traffic on Mountain Avenue, Banff Avenue and on the Norquay Road.
“There were delays up to 25 minutes for vehicles coming from the Rimrock to downtown and this also saw lineups on Banff Avenue and on Norquay Road,” she said.
Slightly shorter northbound travel times from the Rimrock Resort Hotel to the CIBC than in 2019 are being attributed to decreased bridge volume and increased traffic light green overrides – a signal pattern that increases the duration of the north-south green light phase from one minute to three minutes to relieve congestion and travel time delays on northbound Mountain Avenue and Spray Avenue.
DiManno said when there is bumper-to-bumper traffic on Norquay Road, there are limits on the number of green overrides that can be run.
“If we hold open those green lights for people heading north, it contributes to those backups for southbound vehicles,” she said.
“We ran 115 green overrides over the week and last year we only did 22. That’s significant.”
Signs were also set up on Lynx Street, Banff Avenue and Bear Street alerting tourists when the parking lot at the hot springs and gondola was full for the New Year’s Eve weekend.
“Basically those signs are saying that Sulphur Mountain parking is full and to encourage folks to take transit over the bridge,” said DiManno.
According to Banff’s annual traffic summary, which was released Monday (Jan. 8), overall vehicle volumes on Mountain Avenue were 86,693 for the entire month of December.
That’s an 18 per cent increase from the previous December, versus the four per cent increase over the bridge, and the 13 per cent increase through the main entrances to town.
“Volume increased 13 per cent from December 2019 and was the highest December volume on record dating back to 2006,” said Claudia Rustenburg, engineering services technician in the report.
According to the full-year summary, traffic volumes increased five per cent from 2022 and were unchanged from 2019.
Vehicles going across the Bow River bridge for the full year increased three per cent from 2022 and decreased 11 per cent from 2019.
Officials say the decrease versus pre-pandemic years may be attributed to free transit for locals, intercept parking combined with promotion and uptake of transit and shuttle use, and the active mode transportation option offered by the new pedestrian bridge across the Bow River.
“Due to the above transportation mode shift factors, as a percentage of main entrances volume, Banff Ave Bridge volume has decreased substantially from pre-pandemic years,” said Rustenburg.
“This improvement has helped mitigate congestion and delays both on south-side corridors and in the downtown area."
Local Roam ridership for all of 2023 increased 51 percent to 1,575,000 from 1,046,143 in 2022, and increased 60 per cent from 984,266 in 2019.
“This represents a welcome shift in driver habits away from private vehicle use,” said Rustenburg in her report.
Roam ran its service throughout the period, but did get caught in congestion on occasion.
“From what we’ve seen in summer, and now it is apparent in our Christmas to New Year's season, is that transit in town is the key to maintaining a good experience for residents and visitors,” said DiManno.
DiManno said the traffic problems continue to highlight that mass transit from Calgary – whether train or bus and expansion of On-It – is essential.
She said On-It thankfully ran a service over the holiday season for the first time ever, with a 90 per cent occupancy rate for the week and completely sold out on Dec. 28-29.
“The reality is On-It in summer represents less than one per cent of our total visitors and so we really need the federal government and the province to help invest in mass transit service that connects Calgary out to the Bow Valley and to Banff,” said DiManno.
DiManno is also concerned that Parks Canada won't have a strategy until 2026 coming out of the report from the expert panel it struck to investigate moving people sustainably throughout Banff National Park.
“We can’t wait several more years to start implementing changes. We have to start working on these now,” she said.
“As to what's in that report, whether it's creating mobility hubs, an integrated transit system, variable pricing, there's so many solid strategies in there, but we just cannot keep designing and building for vehicles or we will get more vehicles.”
