Bear Street Reconstruction Project Update
December 12

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 brandnewbear.ca

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

Safety Ambassadors hand out masks - photo

Safety Ambassadors continue to monitor Bear Street and distribute free masks to residents and visitors, while monitoring the access road for the Breswster's Mountain Lodge parkade,

Week Ahead - Overview

Zone 1 (at Caribou St)

Traffic/intersection – open (east-west only)
On-street parking – open on Caribou Street, with accessible parking
Pedestrian access – open
Brewster's Mountain Lodge parkade access road - open
Activities: electrical installation for street poles and placement of BLLT Christmas Trees

Zone 2

Traffic – closed
On-street parking – closed
Parkade access – open
Pedestrian access - open with partial closures, including closed cross walk at Willock & Sax Gallery
Activity:
- soil cells in lay-down area/surface parking lot and adjacent Bear Street
- landscaping - concrete platforms over soil cells and boulder placement
- shallow utilities (electrical and irrigation system)
- surface works (insulation, geotextile, gravel)
- street pole base installation

Zone 3

Traffic – closed
On-street parking – closed
Parkade access – closed
Pedestrian access - partial closures, including closed crosswalk at CHM/alley access route
Activity:
- trench drain running north-south
- soil cells in lay-down area/surface parking lot and adjacent Bear Street
- landscaping - concrete platforms over soil cells and boulder placement
- shallow utilities (electrical and irrigation system)
- street pole base installation
- Underground insulation and gravel road base installation at:
  - Bear Street Mall front entrance (Access from alley)
  - FYI Doctors (Access from alley)
  - Gourlay's Pharmacy (Access from alley)
  - Townhouse building resident entrance and Cigars & Such

Zone 4 (at Wolf St)

Traffic/intersection – closed
On-street parking – closed
Pedestrian access – partial closures
Installation of street poles electrical system
Installation of BLLT Christmas Trees

Maps of Activity over next 10 days:

Construction Description: Dec. 13-22

Work on the storm water system will continue with the installation of soil cells and trench drains in the central area of Bear Street. Excavation and the installation of soil cells and trench drains in Zones 2 an 3 will require closures of the mid-block crosswalks during the next week. Please see the link below for Weekly Access Closures schedule for details.

Landscaping and shallow utilities work will also continue in the central zone. 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. Please be prepared for short notice closures of the sidewalk in front of your buildings. These closures are necessary for the safety of the public and workers. Expect them to last for one or more hours at a time.

Rebuilding of the road base will continue in Zones 2 and 3 - the central area. With colder temperatures, heating and hoarding of the road sub-base is required before rebuilding to ensure there is no expansion and settling in the future. Unfortunately, this will impact the access to certain businesses in Zone 3, as listed in the linked access schedule below,.

Last week, new streetlights were installed at the Caribou and Wolf intersections. This work will continue next week in Zones 2 and 3.

Access to the Brewster's Mountain Lodge parkade remains open. Bear Street Mall and Townhouse Building parkades will continue to be closed, and once the construction is complete for the winter, tenants will be offered alternative parkade access for the duration of the winter.

Please click here to download a schedule of front door access closures on specific dates for individual businesses.

Street poles and Christmas Trees - Photo

Electrical systems are being connected for new street poles on Wolf Street, and BLLT is placing mini Christmas Trees in the planters.

Complete Project Schedule

Click table to download PDF of the revised full project schedule.

Project to be complete in 2021

The Bear Street Reconstruction is scheduled to be fully complete by the week of July 19, 2021.

The following will be completed in 2021, with work resuming as soon as the ground thaws:

installing block pavers as final road surface
finishing work on planter boulders
installing public street furniture
planting trees and shrubs in 36 planters
finishing bases on all street lights
fire place in centre of street

As the construction nears the limit of work able to accomplish in cold temperatures, the focus will be on creating an inviting and usable street through the winter.

A portion of the future surface parking lot will be converted into a mini skating ring after the construction work is complete.

Bear Street Winter Pedestrian Zone

The Construction crews, equipment and materials will be removed from the street and surface parking lot from the week of December 21 until the restart of construction in late April.

During this winter period, the Town of Banff will work to make Bear Street a safe place for people to visit and maintain physical distancing requirements.

On Monday, December 7, Banff Town Council directed administration to create a skating rink on a portion of the future surface parking lot as a way to provide safe activities and to disperse people from the other main skating rink, on Banff Avenue.

With new provincial restrictions, proposed amenities such as fire pits will not be permitted while the restrictions are in place banning social gatherings.

The Town is working with food and beverage operations on Bear Street to facilitate take-away services and some opportunities for people in the same household to linger on the street, while maintaining physical distancing from others.

Designated parking spaces on Caribou Street and Wolf Street will be dedicated to Accessible stalls and Medical Offices. The Town is looking to secure pull-in loading stalls in the alley west of Bear Street for customers and renters for stores on Bear Street.

Banff & Lake Louise Tourism (BLLT) created a temporary replica of the Banff entrance sign to welcome people to Bear Street. The sign will be relocated to the central area of Bear Street after the construction work is complete for the winter.

A rendering of Bear Street looking north, depicting the approximate location of the Banff sign. A gate beyond the access to the Brewster's Mountain Lodge parkade is being planned to stop traffic from entering the central area while allowing emergency vehicle access. A similar gate is being planned for the Wolf Street entrance. Zones for extra seating are being planned for installation when provincial restrictions allow.

Measures to stop the spread of COVID-19

n Dec. 8 the Government of Alberta announced restrictions that apply to all communities in Alberta. These will remain in place until at least January 12, 2021. Details: https://www.alberta.ca/enhanced-public-health-measures.aspx

Measures put in place immediately (Dec. 8):

No social gatherings are allowed - indoors and outdoors. The Chief Medical Officer explains that this applies to people standing or sitting together for socializing.
Masks mandatory in all indoor public spaces and workplaces province-wide

Effective Sunday, Dec 13, restrictions include:

Restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafes closed to in-person service, but take-out and delivery services are encouraged
Retail services, including malls, must reduce customer capacity to 15%
Entertainment and indoor recreation facilities must close, including galleries, museums and theatres
Indoor fitness facilities must close to group activity, except for individual training with limited capacity
Personal and wellness services, like hair and nail salons, must close
Health services, like physio and acupuncture, remain open by appointment only.
Hotels remain open but no spas, pools or in-person dining. Room services only.
Outdoor recreation is allowed, with physical distancing enforced and group activities limited to 10 people or fewer

Details on provincial and Town of Banff restrictions, and the updated COVID case count are available at https://banff.ca/covid#Critical

Support services
The Emergency Social Services team has increased staffing for the Help Desk to support residents in need. For example, with increasing numbers of residents in isolation or quarantine, the help desk can help coordinate delivery of food or supplies, mental health referral, translation services and assistance accessing the Canada Sickness Recovery Benefit or other supports. Residents are asked to visit https://banff.ca/covidhelp or email Help@Banff.ca.

The Town of Banff opened an isolation space for Banff residents living in shared accommodation who need to isolate due to testing positive or being notified they have been in close contact with a person who tested positive. The Town is operating 23 isolation units at the Banff Centre. Learn more.

Business support
Information about support to businesses is listed at banff.ca/COVIDbusiness including:

the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy program has been revised to provide rent relief directly to tenants
changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy were announced Nov. 19

The Bear Street project team recognizes the additional anxiety and financial hardship this new phase in the pandemic is causing residents, businesses and employees on Bear Street. We continue to work to minimize the disruption caused by construction and share your concerns about the impact of COVID in our community. Don't hesitate to contact the team or the Town of Banff with questions, concerns or suggestions.

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.

Bear Street Reconstruction Project Update December 12