Bear Street Wins Big
The Bear Street reconstruction project has won four design awards from provincial and international agencies that recognize excellence in design.
Council heard from WSP Canada, consultant engineers on the project, about the accolades Bear Street has received.
The project has been awarded:
- Award of Excellence, Planning Design and Construction, from the International Downtown Association, September 2022
- Award of Merit, Community Development, from the Consulting Engineers of Alberta, April 2022
- Overall Project of the Year, Water Canada, Water’s Next, June 2022
- Stormwater Project of the Year, Water Canada, Water’s Next, June 2022
- Finalist, Achievement Award, Transportation Association of Canada Small Municipalities, May 2022
The reconstruction of Bear Street was completed on July 19, 2021, creating a pedestrian-priority street in the heart of Banff. A $9.5-million project, the project also replaced all sewer and water lines – some 100 years old – and created new connections to 50+ properties on the street, and added soil cell technology that collects all storm water, filters it, automatically irrigates 80 new trees and all landscaping, and cleans drainage before draining into the storm water system. Learn more about the history of the project at https://banff.ca/bearstreet
Committee Selected for Community Plan
Council selected the panel that will sit on the Banff Community Plan Steering Committee. Committee members will guide the review and update of the Banff Community Plan and will ultimately help shape the 10-year policy document as the vision and plan progress. This will be a 12-16 month process.
Council also voted to increase the number of public members to four, from three, to allow for more input from residents.
Mayor Corrie DiManno and Councillor Grant Canning were voted in by their fellow councillors to be the council representatives on the committee.
The following were appointed by council:
- Parks Canada Representatives: Sheila Luey. Alternative: Kendra Van Dyk
- Business/tourism non-governmental organization: Wanda Bogdane, Banff Lake Louise Hospitality Association
- Environment non-government organization: Jess Harding, Bow Valley Naturalists
- Public members: Allan Buckingham, Dr. Vamini Selvanandan, Stavros Karlos, Leslie Taylor
Learn more about the committee process at https://banff.ca/bcpcommittee