Bear Street Project Update - October 10

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.

Paving and Soil Cells

Magpie & Stump corner was the first location for paving a new sidewalk and the first paver slabs installed. Excavation continues at 36 locations for installation of soil cells and then concrete forms and boulders for landscape "pods." Soil cells will irrigate trees and shrubs, and filter water and reduce effluent going into the new storm water mains running the length Bear Street.

Concrete surface works will be completed this week at the Magpie & Stump, Cascade Lodge, Olympic Building and Brewster Mountain Lodge corners of the Caribou and Bear intersection. The final stage of this work involves sandblasting of concrete sidewalks to expose an aggregate finish.

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 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 closures at corners
Activity:
- sidewalk construction, surface work
- start of pavers placement

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
- boulder placement
- 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

Construction Description: Oct. 11 - 17

Work on the storm system and shallow utilities will continue with installation of soil cells, dry wells and trench drains in Zones 2, 3 and 4. Excavation and the installation of soil cells will limit the access to certain businesses in Zones 2, 3 & 4. Please see the attached Weekly Access Closures schedule below, for details. To limit impacts, road coring (excavation) will be done along will 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 2 will start to see the rebuilding of the road base in some sections in preparation for the installation of paver stones.

Zone 1 concrete surface works will be completed this week at the Magpie & Stump, Cascade Lodge, Olympic Building and Brewster Mountain Lodge corners. The final stage of this work is the sandblasting of concrete sidewalks to achieve the “Banff Standard” exposed aggregate finish. This work will be disruptive with significant noise & dust created. Work areas and adjacent buildings will be shrouded with plastic as best possible to minimize dust.

10-day Front Door Access Closures - Oct. 11 to 20
(Click to download full PDF):

10 day work schedule affecting building access closures

This schedule provides dates of construction activities which will affect “front door” access to specific businesses over the next 10 day period.
Dates in red mean access is expected to be closed for an entire day, while dates in yellow mean that access will be intermittent for parts of the day.
Click above image to download PDF.

Full Project Schedule - Sequence of Remaining Phases
(Click image to download PDF)

This document identifies projected access restrictions to buildings & businesses until the end of the project. The schedule indicates the sequence of 9 phases of construction that will have an impact on the “front door” access to specific businesses, and estimated time of closures for those front doors. The specific dates will be provided as they are updated in upcoming weekly10-day schedules.
Click on the above image to download a PDF of sequence of future closures.

Willow removal and tree plantings

The Sharp Leaf Willow tree on the private leasehold on the corner of Bear Street Mall will b removed in late October or early November, due to deterioration.

A certified arborist rated the health and location of these trees with a "below fair" rating. Analysis of photos 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 landscape. The reconstruction project will plant 106 trees, 640 shrubs and 730 grasses and perennials in the irrigated landscape planters. The 36 planters will include about two to 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, for better fire resistance and to reduce blocking views into buildings. 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 directly to entry points.

Maps placed at all Bear Street entrances indicate when and where sidewalk access is closed. Please tell 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 two information sessions for Banff residents to learn about the current and next phases of construction. A live video 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

Another video session will be held late this month.

An in-person public site tour about the project was held on Tuesday, October 6.
Due to the interest expressed by participants, an additional session will be held in a month from now.

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.