Banff's Tourism Industry Finds Community Plan Language on Transit Hub's "Problematic"
Cathy Ellis
Rocky Mountain Outlook
BANFF – Banff’s tourism industry is calling for removal of reference to transportation arrival hubs and intercept parking in the draft community plan amid fears a lack of flexibility to consider all potential options may create “severe consequences” for local businesses.
While supporting the intent, officials with the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment (AMPPE) and Banff and Lake Louise Hospitality Association (BLLHA) say they find the language in the draft community plan “overly prescriptive.”
Karli Fleury, BLLHA’s director of workforce and destination initiatives, said the group supports the intent behind moving people sustainably and reducing environmental impacts, but a singular vision of intercept parking and transit hubs “risks precluding other viable strategies and solutions.”
She said references to reducing in-town parking throughout the townsite and constructing multimodal arrival hubs outside the park frame these approaches as predetermined outcomes rather than potential tools within a broader strategy.
“This is problematic … sectors of Banff’s downtown economy are dependent on day-use visitors, and restricting parking without adequate alternatives could have severe consequences for retail, restaurant, and service-based businesses,” Fleury wrote in a letter to the Town of Banff.
“Furthermore, Parks Canada has not endorsed transit hubs outside the park, and the plan should not signal implementation preferences that depend on approvals beyond the Town’s jurisdiction.”
Banff National Park has seen a 30 per cent overall increase in vehicle traffic over the last decade and an explosion in visitation to approximately 4.2 million visitors a year.
As a result, the Town of Banff has been grappling to deal with congestion clogging the tourist town’s streets and parking challenges within its boundary of four square kilometers.
Banff’s community plan – a social, environmental and economic blueprint for Banff’s future – seeks to address some of these issues, with statistics showing an increase in traffic so far this year compared to last year.
The draft community plan speaks to exploring multimodal transportation arrival hubs at each entrance to the townsite, or outside the downtown core, including options for decentralized mobility hubs for parking areas.
Parks Canada has consistently said intercept parking outside the townsite boundary is a non-starter due to rare montane lands and a critical wildlife corridor.
The plan also calls for expansion of the existing transit network while actively promoting and integrating alternative rapid transit technologies, and talks to working with partners to explore the feasibility of a passenger rail to link Calgary with Bow Valley destinations, including Canmore, Banff, and Lake Louise.
The initial draft plan called for consideration and exploration of mobility hubs outside of the national park; however, based on feedback from the tourism and commercial sector, this reference has been removed in the updated, redlined version of the plan.
AMPPE recommended removal of specific objectives outlined in the plan, including taking out wording about reducing and managing traffic volumes and parking needs in the townsite, and building multimodal transportation arrival hubs at each entrance to the townsite or outside the national park.
Debbie Harksen, AMPPE’s executive director, said the plan should not presuppose infrastructure such as hubs outside the park boundary or specific technologies like rail, but should support “flexibility, balance, and coordination” with Parks Canada’s ongoing transportation framework.
She said the desire to create arrival hubs in the community plan is noted, but practical constraints must be acknowledged, and pre-subscribed solutions should not be included in Banff’s community plan.
“The Town previously explored a land swap for an intercept parking lot outside the town boundary, which was rejected by Parks Canada due to the area’s ecological value, a crucial factor that should guide our decisions,” she said.
“Efforts have since shifted toward solutions within town limits.”
In addition, Harksen said the Town of Banff should base the plan to align with Parks Canada’s present and future plans as well.
For example, she said it has come to AMPPE’s attention that Parks Canada has created and is circulating a People Moving Framework that will tie into their existing plans.
“For these reasons, AMPPE recommends removing any reference to arrival hubs in the plan,” she said.
Town of Banff officials say that year-to-date 2025 vehicle volume is 8.8 per cent higher than the same period in 2024 and is 2.93 per cent greater than the 2019 year-to-date volume prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno said a strong summer for visitation is anticipated for the Banff townsite and surrounding national park, driven by a favorable U.S. dollar and a growing number of Canadians opting to vacation closer to home.
She said with Calgary and surrounding areas among the fastest-growing regions in Canada, with more people taking advantage of quick trips to the mountains.
“This trend is already evident. Over Easter and the May long weekend, Banff recorded its highest vehicle counts for those holiday Fridays,” she said in a recent interview.
Fleury said the community plan should not signal implementation preferences that depend on approvals beyond the Town’s jurisdiction.
She said framing intercept or arrival hubs outside the national park as the central transportation solution overlooks the interconnectedness between access, economic prosperity, and Banff’s unique role as a functioning community and center for visitors.
“Limiting in-town arrival and parking options risks severing the link between visitor flow and local business vitality,” she said.
“Redirecting visitors to park outside the park boundaries could significantly reduce their time in town, erode spontaneous spending at local businesses, and ultimately weaken the viability of year-round operations,” she added.
“This has implications for tax revenue, employment stability, and the Town’s ability to fund essential services.”
Rather than prescribing a singular infrastructure solution, particularly one that may never materialize due to federal limitations or that it’s economically unfeasible, Fleury said the community plan should embrace a high-level, “balanced, flexible approach” for reducing congestion and supporting sustainable mobility, without “undermining the economic engine that sustains the community.”
She said the plan should also avoid referencing specific projects such as passenger rail from Calgary to Banff.
“Highlighting individual solutions or stakeholders at this stage creates the appearance of preference and risks narrowing future options, when the plan’s intent should remain broad, inclusive, and adaptable,” she said.
Council passed first reading of the Banff community plan on May 26. A public hearing has been set for July 14.
The minister responsible for Parks Canada has final say on the document.