Canmore Delays Palliser Pedestrian Crossing To 2031 After Livability Tax Changes

Canmore council has delayed design work for a proposed pedestrian crossing near Palliser Trail after changes to provincial law sharply reduced projected revenues from the town’s Livability Tax program.

Council voted Tuesday to remove the $600,000 Palliser Pedestrian Crossing Design project from the town’s 2026 infrastructure spending plan after the province's Bill 28 legislation exempted Alberta residents from Canmore’s higher Livability Tax category.

The project was originally scheduled for 2026 but has now been pushed to 2031 under the revised plan.

The Livability Tax applies a higher municipal property tax rate to certain homes not occupied full time and was created to help fund affordable housing projects and related infrastructure.

Town administration told council Livability Tax revenues are now expected to fall from roughly $10.3 million annually to about $4.4 million after Alberta exempted provincial residents from the higher tax category, and recommended reducing the Livability Tax budget while delaying several projects funded through the reserve fund, including the Palliser crossing design.

The funding only covered design work for a future pedestrian crossing. The goal was to prepare the crossing for future construction funding, although no construction funding source currently exists.

Coun. Rob Murray said the crossing remains an important long-term infrastructure project as more housing is built in the Palliser area.

“If we don't have the proper infrastructure in place to allow for pedestrian access and for alternate forms of transportation, I think we will be heading into a big problem,” said Murray.

A majority of council rejected proposals for a larger Livability Tax budget, arguing the town should first operate within the reduced post-Bill-28 funding framework before considering major increases.

Mayor Sean Krausert said he did not want residents interpreting the reduced budget as a retreat from the town’s broader housing commitments.

“I would hate for anyone to walk away from this seeing this as turning away from our commitments,” Krausert said.

He and several councillors also said they expect the crossing project could return before 2031 through future budget discussions or other funding opportunities.

The decision came one day after RCMP began investigating a fatal collision involving a 24-year-old Canmore resident found dead near the Palliser corridor on westbound Trans-Canada Highway early Monday morning.

Police have not suggested the collision was connected to the delayed crossing project.

The area near Exit 89, which connects to Palliser Trail, has previously been identified as a pedestrian safety concern tied to growing residential development near the Palliser lands.

In 2025, Sarah Elmeligi told the Western Wheel she had urged provincial planners to consider a pedestrian overpass or crossing as part of planned highway fencing work in the area.

Elmeligi said fencing alone would not stop people from crossing because “people are crossing there all the time.”