Bear Street Project Update - October 2

This e-newsletter is for residents, businesses and organizations who have registered for project updates.

If you know others who should receive this regular email update, please direct them to sign up at https://www.brandnewbear.ca/

For any questions or comments, please email the project team at BearStreet.Talk@banff.ca.

Installing Soil Cells

Excavation continues at more than 30 locations for installation of soil cells to irrigate trees, shrubs and landscaping, while reducing and filtering water before going into the new storm water mains running the length Bear Street.

Excavation for Road Base and Soil Cells

The full road bed is being excavated continuing south to north. Removal of the top layer of road material will drop the level 0.5 metres below existing surface. Business doors will have to be closed on a rolling closure format. This phased process will take a few weeks. This week will see road base work in Zones 3 and 4 at the same time as soil cell installation.

Excavation are for soil cells and collectors

Yellow areas in the map above indicate the area of excavation required for more than 30 landscape pods for soil cells and storm water collectors to main lines. Click on the image above to download a PDF of the excavation map.

Week Ahead - Overview

Zone 1 (at Caribou St)

Traffic/intersection – closed
Parking – closed
Pedestrian access – partial or full closures at corners
Activity:
- sidewalk construction, surface work

Zone 2

Traffic – closed
Parking – closed
Parkade – closed until project completion
Pedestrian access - partial closures
Activity:
- concrete construction for landscape pods
- trench drain installation
- boulder placement
- shallow utilities

Zone 3

Traffic – closed
Parking – closed
Parkades – closed until project completion
Pedestrian access - partial closures
Activity:
- soil cells installation
- concrete construction for landscape pods over soil cells
- road bed excavation
- storm system and shallow utilities work

Zone 4 (at Wolf St)

Traffic/intersection – closed
Parking – closed
Pedestrian access – partial closures
Activities:
- soil cells installation
- road bed excavation
- landscape structures

Diagram maps for Oct. 4-13:

Construction Description - Oct. 4 - 13

Work on the storm system and shallow utilities will continue with installation of soil cells, dry wells and trench drains in Zone 2, 3 and 4. Excavation and the installation of soil cells will limit the access to certain businesses in Zone 2, 3 & 4. Please see the 10-day Front Door Access Closures PDF below, for details. To reduce the overall duration of impact on businesses, road coring (excavation) will be done at the same time as soil cell excavations, when possible.

Landscaping work will continue in Zones 2, 3 & 4. Concrete work around the soil cells will be completed first, followed by placement of above ground landscaping features. This work will cause intermittent access closures to some businesses. These closures are necessary for the safety of the public and workers. Expect them to last for one or more hours at a time.

Zone 1 will see the rebuilding of the road base and concrete surface works with the completion of the Magpie & Stump corner followed by the Cascade Lodge, Olympic Building and Brewster Mountain Lodge corners. This work will combine the last three stages (insulation, road base & concrete surface works) and will require extended access closures. Completion of these stages is a significant marker for the project.

Willow removal and tree plantings

The Sharp Leaf Willow tree on the private leasehold on the corner of Bear Street Mall has been assessed by a certified arborist due to deterioration.

The arborist rated the health and location of these trees with a "below fair" rating. Analysis from 2009 onwards indicates that the tree has been showing signs of stress and is in declining state, otherwise referred to as a mortality spiral. The willow is approximately 75 to 80 years old, but the expectation is that it may only survive an additional 3 to 10 years.

The arborist anticipates that the willow will continue down the mortality spiral, and therefore, recommends the removal of the willow during street renewal construction.

The cause for the deterioration is a combination of tree form, tree location, development, and maintenance issues:

The tree has two stems/trunks which have grown together creating a weak and fragile ‘V’ connection (bark inclusion). This is undesirable as there is no room for the tree to grow and expand without the risk of splitting, likely a reason why there is evidence of tree cabling (cabling is installed to help mitigate risk of failure where weak points exists).

There is also a hollow cavity at the base of the tree, where heartwood is slowly disintegrating due to pocket rot. The compacted ground of the adjacent development has restricted area for root development. The structural root plate and the critical root zone was likely reduced and compromised. Wounds have been unable to properly heal due to pruning issues. Flush cuts and subsequent tearing of bark destroyed the trees’ natural defense mechanisms to adequately heal in the past.

The decline of this beautiful tree is unfortunate. The project team hopes the additional plantings will help mitigate the loss.

Bear Street had approximately 25 trees in the original design. The reconstruction project will plant 110 trees, 640 shrubs and 730 grasses and perennials in the irrigated landscape planters. The 37 planters will include about three trees (depending on size of planter), 17 shrubs and 20 grasses. Deciduous trees will be planted instead of coniferous trees planted on Banff Avenue. The soil cells, irrigation and drainage system will help the trees grow quickly and maintain health, which will accelerate the time for the canopy to provide shade and rise above window level.

Communications Update

Bear Street Ambassadors focus on promoting all businesses on Bear Street on weekends, while mainly helping people navigate the changing access routes on weekdays. Ambassadors also continue to hand out free masks on weekends to maintain high bylaw compliance and as a technique to engage visitors with promotion of Bear Street businesses.

The 14 Bear Street Ambassadors are on the street 7 days a week, working hard to assist people in finding the best route to their Bear Street destination, often escorting individuals to businesses and services.

Maps placed at all Bear Street entrances indicate when and where sidewalk access is closed. Please tell employees, colleagues and neighbours to look for maps at entrances to find the best route to destinations on Bear Street.

Public Information Sessions

The Town held an information session online for Banff residents to learn about the current and next phases of construction. The zoom meeting was held Oct. 1.

A video recording of the public information session is available on the home page of the project website: BrandNewBear.ca

This session was similar to the weekly meeting with stakeholders and used information presented to Banff Town Council on September 21. We will schedule a second public video session in a month.

A live in-person public site tour about the project is being held on:

Date: Tuesday, October 6
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Caribou Street tent, west of Banff Avenue alley
COVID: masks are mandatory and social distancing is practiced
CAUTION: this is adjacent an active construction site; noise expected
Weather Dependent. Cancelled if snowing or heavy rain.

This site tour will allow people to see the installation of soil cells in the range of phases, from excavation to concrete forms to boulder placement at landscape locations. The tour will also examine road coring (excavation) and the final phases to come before project completion.

Call to Artists

The Town of Banff, through the Community Art Committee, is inviting Canadian artists to submit proposals for a public art project on Bear Street. The Call to Artists opened on August 27 and closes January 6, 2021. Details on this opportunity and maps of the two locations for public art on Bear Street are available at banff.ca/1153/Call-to-Artists.

Bear Street Reconstruction Project Team:

Pierre-Hugues “PH” Gagnon, Bear Street Project Manager
Marie-Eve Jackson, Community Liaison Officer (for businesses and residents)
587.222.4377
Rick Williams, Business Liaison Officer (for property owners)
403.762.1219
Janice Carson, Senior Communications Specialist
Darren Enns, Director of Planning and Development
Adrian Field, Director of Engineering
Jason Darrah, Director of Communications

For questions and comments about the Bear Street Reconstruction project, please email bearstreettalk@banff.ca.