Emergency Preparedness Series: Governments Present Plans to Industry 

The Banff and Lake Louise Hospitality Association (BLLHA) has organized these online workshops for businesses to help our communities prepare for emergencies like wildfire. The first session in the series was the industry workshop on March 26. These next sessions are presented by the Town of Banff, Parks Canada and Improvement District No. 9. See program details and register below: 

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 

Town of Banff 

9 – 10 a.m. 

Webinar | FREE | unlimited registration 

Registration link

The Town of Banff’s Director of Emergency & Protective Services, Katherine Severson, will present the Town's emergency and disaster risk reduction activities. In the context of the most probable hazards in the region, she will share current Town initiatives and will preview what's on deck in the future. Highlights will include the upcoming Town of Banff Wildfire Forum on May 7, updates to the Town evacuation plan, extreme weather planning, and mass violence mitigation. 

Wednesday, May 8, 2024 

Parks Canada (Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho & Kootenay) and ID9 

9 – 10 a.m. 

Webinar | FREE | unlimited registration 

Registration link

Parks Canada and Improvement District No. 9 will provide an overview of the emergency management and planning activities underway in Banff National Park. Join the conversation about what happens during an emergency in the park and how Parks Canada works with partners, municipalities and neighbouring jurisdictions during a response. Highlights will include an update on regional partnerships, preliminary draft of the Lake Louise Area Emergency Plan and the role of ID9 during an emergency. 

2024 Downtown Pedestrian Zone  

The 2024 Downtown Pedestrian Zone with restaurant patios is currently scheduled to open on the May Long Weekend. Two important issues may affect the pedestrian zone – a petition and ongoing discussions with Parks Canada. Learn about these issues and how they could affect the pedestrian zone: banff.ca/BanffAve

Financing opportunity for retrofits 

Are you considering infrastructure changes in your commercial properties? The Town of Banff is preparing a pilot project to support a group of businesses that are including energy-efficiency measures that can lower utility costs and reduce climate change-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

Together with the Business Development Bank of Canada, the Town of Banff is looking for commercial partners interested in learning more about retrofit measures and attractive financing options. The program includes a free assessment of what measures make sense for your portfolio. Types of projects in the pilot: 

• Energy management 
• Building envelope reinforcement 
• Upgrade or replacement of heating and cooling systems 
• Lighting retrofits and/or controls 
• Building Automation System / Recommissioning 
• On-demand ventilation 

If you want to learn more and participate in an online presentation about the program, please contact the Town of Banff Energy Coordinator at Philipp.leberer@banff.ca 

Businesses can help community prepare for wildfire emergencies  

With the wildfire season starting sooner and lasting longer, businesses in Banff have an increasing role in helping people in the community become prepared and ready for action.  

Top 5 activities for businesses: 

1. Build into your HR orientation for new staff and your regular training sessions a segment on how to respond to community emergencies and evacuation alerts. 
2. Make sure all staff sign up for the Town of Banff’s Emergency Alert System, provided by Voyent Alerts. People can pin their home and their workplace to receive notifications about specific areas, from gas leaks, to wildfire, to flooding. If there is urgent action required, such as evacuation or shelter in place, staff can keep themselves safe while helping visitors in town. Learn more and sign up at banff.ca/Alert  
3. Encourage your staff to prepare an emergency kit or “go bag.” This should be left by the entrance of their homes to be supplied for 72 hours away from home in the event of an evacuation. Info: banff.ca/514/Emergency-Kits  
4. Prepare for emergencies with critical planning for your pets, vehicle kits, and learn about the difference between evacuation alerts and evacuation orders. Find helpful resources at alberta.ca/emergency-preparedness
5. Create an emergency response plan for your organization with key contacts, how you communicate in an emergency with staff and customers, responsibilities and protocols to protect lives and your property. 

Community safety and policing meeting 

The Banff RCMP is hosting a community meeting to hear from residents and business owners about policing and public safety.  

Tuesday, April 30, 2024 

5:30 - 7 p.m. 

Catharine Robb Whyte Building (101 Bear Street) 

All are welcome. No registration is required. 

This is an opportunity to learn about police priorities, crime statistics in Banff, and how partners help address various issues including community safety, fraud/cybercrime, sexualized violence, road safety, mental health, and emergency management. Partners from the Harmony Project, Banff Bar Watch and the Town’s Emergency and Protective Services will be available for questions. Your input will help us shape the policing strategy.  

Subscribe to Traffic Stats to keep count of visitation trends  

The Town of Banff has vehicle traffic counters at the Banff Ave and Norquay Road entrances, and reports on monthly volumes, comparisons to previous years, tracking of vehicle counts for crossing to the south side and on Mountain Avenue.  

For example, February saw 399,660 vehicles counted at both entrances, showing a 5% increase over February 2023 and an 8% increase from February 2019. However, February traffic over the Bow River Bridge was 272,802, (a change of 1% over 2023). Bridge traffic volume this February was a decrease of 13% over 2019. This is tracked to see the impact of measures to encourage visitors to park at the train station and take transit or active modes to travel to the south side. 

This type of data is available to subscribers to the Traffic Stats newsletter, with an email sent each month, and after each long weekend in the summer. Sign up at banff.ca/newsletters

Mountain Ave express bus lane set to move ahead 

The Town of Banff has awarded the tender for the project to create a Mountain Avenue express bus lane and a new shared trail from Spray Avenue to the Middle Springs Drive. The construction schedule is being developed this week and will be published later this month on the project web page.  

The construction schedule and methods are being designed to minimize traffic disruption in the busiest months of visitation – July and August. 

The project’s objective is to encourage more visitors to take transit to the popular Sulphur Mountain attractions, rather than driving. Decreasing the number of visitors driving will alleviate traffic congestion for people who need to drive. Making transit more efficient than driving is one of the measures being implemented this year to address congestion on Mountain Avenue and the south side. Roam Transit is shifting bus service to increase frequency between downtown and the gondola in peak periods, ahead of receiving new buses to increase capacity in 2025. The Town also applauds the Rimrock Resort and Pursuit for teaming up on adding more free shuttles to the area’s top tourist destination. 

Check back later this month for the construction schedule on the project web page.  

Review the project details and the report on “What We’re Doing – in response to What We Heard” on the public consultation web page banffviewpoints.ca/mountainexpress.  

Become a contractor qualified for new Banff energy projects 

Only pre-approved contractors can work on retrofits and renovations financed through the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) being launched in Banff in fall 2024. The Town of Banff is joining the provincial program to provide loans to property owners who want to invest in work to lower their utility bills, improve energy efficiency, enhance comfort, and boost resale value. 

Watch a video from last month’s webinar about becoming a qualified contractor and information about the program: https://vimeo.com/926411770/95c8bf492d  

CEIP website: ceip.abmunis.ca/ 

CEIP Contractors webpage: ceip.abmunis.ca/contractor/