Make way! Banff to close main street to vehicles this summer to give pedestrians more room
Quick thinking and optimism! Alberta’s Rocky Mountain playground really has their selves together, guys! Despite the threat of the coronavirus, Banff is actually preparing for summer tourists. The town will be closing down its main street to all vehicles in hopes of making more room for visitors who they anticipate will explore on foot.
Banff plans on ‘relaunching’ on June 1st, a date that has already been given the green light by the government. They won’t shut down streets until the 5th, but it’ll last into September, which means you’ll be safe all summer long.
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Banff sees about 4 million visitors a year, many of which come in the summer months, but in their population of 7,800, they’ve only reported 4 cases of COVID to date. Which is incredible, and immediately had us thinking “why in the heck would you want to risk having folks their germs into the town?”
The answer is simple. Banff relies on tourism. Without visitors, they would absolutely be in bad shape.
Over May long weekend, traffic was down 70 percent, and pedestrian traffic was down 88 percent, which is insane; but also why they’re willing to spend $175,000 on landscaping for this project and risk having more than 4 confirmed cases.
Now, we’re not entirely comfortable gallivanting around Banff just yet, as coronavirus is definitely still in the air. When we are though, it’ll be a relief to know that such a beautiful place is taking such precaution. Thanks for thinking of us, big B.
