Banff resident Marino DiManno spoke to council as a delegation on angle parking in the 100 block of Beaver Street. The parking format was changed from parallel parking to angle parking as a trial initiative of the Transportation Master Plan over the summer of 2013 and Mr. DiManno was asking for the end of that trial and a return to parallel parking on the street. No motion was made to end the trial, but Council voted to accept Mr. DiManno’s verbal and written presentation as information. Council said they would also look into the issue when they discussed the capital budget in January 2014.
Council received a summary of Transportation Master Plan initiatives that took place during the summer of 2013. The summary provided updates on parking, traffic and sustainable modes of transportation in town over the summer months. Some highlights/findings include:
• 2013 experienced 33 days with over 20,000 vehicles per day – 10 in July and 23 in August.
• Counts indicate commuter traffic of about 500 cars coming into Banff every morning at the Norquay entrance.
• Having a turning lane in front of the Post Office decreased wait times heading westbound along Buffalo Street.
• Travel time in summer is slower than shoulder season, but by less than 10 minutes on average. On average it takes about five minutes longer to cross the bridge in summer than in shoulder season.
Council voted to accept the report as information.
Council got an update on the second Smart Parking pilot project in town. The first Smart Parking project was to install a counter in the Bear Street parkade to track the number of free stalls, and have that information feed into Banffparking.ca. The second project is to have a similar counter in the parking lot at the corner of Beaver and Buffalo Streets that will also include a display outside the lot, as well as eventually feed into Banffparking.ca once its reporting accuracy is nearer 100 per cent. Council voted to receive the report as information.
Council received a briefing on the paid parking implementation research process, which was also accepted as information. The report included an overview of the information that will be provided in the request for decision report on potential paid parking implementation strategies and associated revenue use.
A request for decision from the Banff Housing Corporation (BHC) was added to the agenda as new business. Council went in camera to discuss the BHC operating a line of credit, and came out of camera with a motion to approve an increase to the BHC’s line of credit to $1 million for the purpose of a future potential land acquisition.