BANFF – The Town of Banff will spend $100,000 to enhance outdoor patios and restaurants on Caribou Street in support of local businesses this summer ahead of the disruptive $6.8 million reconstruction of the road in the fall.
Several Caribou Street businesses, including Coyotes, Tooloulou’s Restaurant and the Banff Hospitality Collective’s Maple Leaf, Eddie Burger, Magpie & Stump and Pizzeria Sophia pushed for sidewalk seating platforms, located in roadside parking spots, which have been permitted on Bear Street and Wolf Street.
Kathy Johnson, owner of Coyotes Bar and Grill, said Caribou Street should be extended the same benefit for reasons of “fairness, community vitality and the outdoor dining vibe.”
“We know that next (fall) our street will undergo a reconstruction, which will have a dramatic impact on our businesses,” she said in a letter presented to council on Monday (Jan. 6)
“Given this, we feel it is important that we have the opportunity to provide much wanted outdoor seating this summer to make the most of the remaining time before the construction begins.”
The end result, however, will invariably depend on Parks Canada, which early last year indicated commercialization of public spaces with sidewalk restaurant patios and retail kiosks flouts national park policy and law.
Darren Enns, the director of planning and environment for the Town, said discussions with Parks Canada have been ongoing since January 2024 over sidewalk seating regulations in the Town of Banff, which have been in place since 2011.
“Those conversations have been fruitful and we’re moving forward and we’re hoping to have a resolution by the end of February,” he told council.
“Our desire is to bring you your sidewalk seating policy back for consideration, including some federally informed bookends to consider along with that.”
Regardless, Caribou Street, which is an important restaurant and retail hub in downtown Banff, will get a $6.8 million facelift to make the area more pedestrian-friendly and replace century-old underground water and sewer pipes.
The Town of Banff is going out to tender for reconstruction of Caribou Street between Lynx Street and Banff Avenue, with a goal to start in the fall of 2025 to avoid digging up the street during the busy tourist season.
The portion of the street from Bear Street to Banff Avenue will be rebuilt as one surface without curbs, extending the Bear Street design and its creation of a pedestrian-friendly plaza. The two driving lanes will each be about three metres wide.
Officials say sidewalk seating platforms for 2025 were not initially in budget for 2025 because the area was previously part of the downtown pedestrian zone – which has since been vetoed following a plebiscite that shot it down – and reconstruction of the road was initially slated for this summer.
“We’ve ended up in this conundrum on Caribou Street where there is now a gap,” she Mayor Corrie DiManno. “Now I think it behooves council to be responsive to that change that now exists for summer 2025.”
DiManno said the platforms for sidewalk seating also make for safer experience, noting prior to platforms, outdoor patios were squeezed against the business frontage with little room for pedestrians.
“Looking at those photos earlier really takes me back to those narrow Harry Potter Diagon Alley sort of sidewalks that were hard to navigate when you thought about wheelchairs, strollers, folks who had picked up their skateboards and were walking on the sidewalk as well as diners,” she said.
“This summer we will have vehicular traffic back there, so I think there’s a lot of uses happening and these platforms enable a more safe experience.”
The platforms, which council heard could be repurposed in future for Wolf Street, will be funded via the budget stabilization reserve, which has a year-end balance of about $700,000.
Though not finalized, the 2024 third-quarter financial statement also predicted an $800,000 surplus, which would be funnelled into the budget stabilization reserve.
