Banff Drops Bike Lane Plan As Illegal Railway Crossings Continue

Banff workers who walk or cycle to the Industrial District (location here) will continue to face a detour of up to two kilometres to reach a legal railway crossing after council dropped the Town's latest attempt to improve the route.

On Sept. 22, council voted unanimously to take no further action on the Compound Road Bike Lane Project. No replacement project is in development for the Industrial District connection, and the Town isn't currently talking with CPKC or Parks Canada about another option.

For now, the Town's advice is to take Roam, drive, or walk and cycle through the legal railway crossing at Compound Road.

Thousands still crossing the tracks

Plenty of people are doing something else. A trail counter near the wooden bridge between Marmot Crescent and Eagle Crescent logs about 7,000 to 8,000 one-way crossings a month in summer and 3,000 to 4,000 in winter. Staff say the real number is higher, since people cross along several paths spread over roughly 100 metres of track.

Crossings fell during the pandemic but have been climbing since. Through July, the 2026 count was at 86 percent of the total for the same period in 2019, the busiest year in the Town's records.

The nearest legal railway crossing is about 875 metres east. Depending on where someone is travelling to and from, taking the legal route can add up to two kilometres to the trip.

The Town can't build a crossing or trail at the shortcut on its own. The spot is outside Banff's municipal boundary, CPKC controls the railway right-of-way, and Parks Canada administers the land around it.

Why the bike lane didn't work

The bike-lane project was meant to make the longer, legal route safer and more appealing. It was never intended to legalize the shortcut.

The original concept linked the townsite to Compound Road using part of the Legacy Trail, a new crossing of Banff Avenue and a separated bike lane running to Hawk Avenue.

Consultants found the Legacy Trail sits too low and is prone to ponding and ice, so it couldn't work as a reliable year-round commuter route.

Shifting the route to the west side of Banff Avenue brought its own problems. Near the town boundary there wasn't enough room without pushing into undisturbed Parks Canada land, and keeping cyclists safe from traffic moving at 70 km/h would have meant a continuous concrete barrier.

Crossing Banff Avenue safely would have required a lower speed limit and heavy traffic calming. The Town's engineering, planning and emergency-services departments opposed that because it could restrict the main evacuation route out of town.

Staff concluded a bike lane could be built along Compound Road itself, but there was no safe, supported way to connect it to the townsite.

The Town budgeted $25,000 for the study and spent about $27,000, according to communications director Jason Darrah.

What about a railway crossing?

Ending the bike-lane project leaves the bigger problem unresolved: people are still crossing the railway tracks illegally.

Engineering coordinator Stephen Allan told council the Town had looked at every practical alternative at the current crossing location.

"Unfortunately, there isn't one," Allan said. "It's an unsolvable problem."

According to the Town, CPKC won't allow a public crossing at track level because the location includes a siding where trains are stopped and moved.

An underpass would mean major excavation and dewatering beside Whiskey Creek. Groundwater there is close to the surface, and threatened westslope cutthroat trout spawn in nearby habitat.

An overpass is still technically possible, but there's no active project and no funding.

An accessible bridge would need about 7.1 metres of clearance over the tracks and roughly 140 metres of ramps on each side. Earlier estimates put the cost at $5 million to $12.5 million, and those numbers predate recent construction inflation.

The Town says CPKC still supports an overpass but hasn't committed any money. No outside funding is currently committed, and Banff won't proceed using municipal money alone.

The Town continues to maintain the wooden bridge people use to approach the illegal crossing because water-services staff need it to reach a sewer manhole between the creek and the tracks.

There was no public engagement during the bike-lane study, and the Town says it doesn't plan to consult the people who use the shortcut.

Darrah said the municipality already understands the demand and has looked into a bridge, transit service and the bike lane.

What options are left?

Roam Route 1 now runs to the Industrial District 16 times a day, with later service and extra stops added last year. It averages about 35 daily trips that start or end in the district, according to the staff report.

Ridership is going up, but it's still a small share of the trips counted at the shortcut.

Mayor Corrie DiManno called the outcome "such a bummer." She said residents have asked for a fix for years and the Town has put time and money into finding one more than once.

"Slowly but surely, every door keeps being closed on us," she said.

DiManno described the bike lane as a last "Hail Mary" and urged people to take Roam or use the Compound Road crossing instead of crossing the tracks.

“I know it’s more convenient, but it is so dangerous,” she said of the illegal crossing. “We’ve tried our best to get as many safe options as possible. And unfortunately, we’re just not able to add any more at this time.”