Please sir, may we use your alley?

April 14, 2003
Source: Digital Banff news service

Picture this. You are a tenant in Arctos and Bird’s Bear Street development, which is currently in planning. The development is a harbinger of a new way of doing business in downtown Banff: catering to pedestrians, preserving historical context, and surpassing environmental guidelines. You know the site — where all the kids’ drawings of bears are.

It’s noon on a Saturday in July and you’re heading for Johnsons Lake. But to get out of the parkade, you need to drive across the Bear Street sidewalk. You're going to have to call for a police escort, or lean on the horn.

And while you’re politely waiting for the police escort, you might think about the alley behind your place. It’s almost empty this time of day, but you don’t get to use it, even though all the town’s taxpayers pay for it, and your landlord paid to improve it. But a committee once decided that it was Homestead’s alley, so Arctos and Bird doesn’t get to use it.

This committee’s original decision was in favor of exclusive use of the alley, forcing the parkade entrance across the sidewalk, contrary to the policy expressed in the town’s planning guidelines. The comittee has been given a chance to reconsider their decision. They solicit your opinions.

Tuesday, April 15, at 3 pm at Town Hall.

Everyone who wishes to speak will be heard. A word or two will suffice.

Related stories: Arctos & Bird Bear Street

Other news for April 2003