Poll Finds Strong Support For Exploring Parking Outside Downtown Canmore

A recent Bow Valley Insider poll found strong support for Canmore exploring parking outside downtown as one way to address growing traffic and parking pressures.

Of 410 respondents, 89.51% said Canmore should explore intercept parking, while 10.49% said it should not.

Intercept parking aims to give drivers a place to leave their vehicles before reaching the busiest parts of town, then continue by transit, walking or cycling.

The idea was recently raised by Tourism Canmore Kananaskis as one of several suggestions submitted to the Town as it develops a new Integrated Transportation Plan through 2040.

The poll did not ask respondents whether Canmore should build a specific parking facility. No location, size or cost has been proposed.

Still, the results show considerable interest in exploring the concept.

The written responses also revealed that support often came with conditions, particularly around accessibility, who would pay for the facility and whether convenient transportation would connect it to downtown.

For Many, The Appeal Is Less Downtown Traffic

The most common argument in favour was straightforward: downtown Canmore already has too many vehicles competing for limited space.

“Downtown Canmore cannot handle any more vehicles,” one respondent wrote.

Others described drivers circling downtown looking for spaces, lineups at intersections and increasingly heavy traffic during peak periods.

“Public parking is insufficient in downtown, and leads to people circling for a spot,” one respondent wrote. “Banff has set a good example.”

Banff opened hundreds of free parking spaces at its train station in 2019, giving visitors an opportunity to leave their vehicles near the edge of downtown.

Several respondents pointed specifically to that model.

“On the odd occasion I drive to Banff, the train station works like a charm,” one reader wrote. “We need something like that.”

For others, the benefit went beyond finding somewhere to put cars.

One respondent said downtown Canmore's walkability is one of its biggest attractions and argued that keeping more vehicle traffic away from the centre would help preserve that experience.

“The traffic in Canmore creates an unpleasant environment for locals and tourists alike,” another wrote.

Accessibility Was The Biggest Caveat

Support for parking outside downtown did not necessarily mean support for removing parking downtown.

Accessibility emerged as one of the clearest concerns, including among respondents who voted yes.

Several said seniors, people with disabilities and those using wheelchairs or walkers still need parking close to downtown destinations.

“A large lot option would be great for many,” one respondent wrote. “Still need another option for seniors or those with disabilities.”

Another respondent, who supported exploring the idea, said accessible parking downtown should not only remain but be increased.

“I have arrived multiple times in the summer to find no handicap parking, to drive all around the downtown core with no options, only to then have to drive away,” another wrote.

The same concern was prominent among those opposed to the idea.

“As a senior coming from Cochrane we like to have dinner or lunch there,” one respondent wrote. “Having to climb into a bus at more expense would not be doable as far as mobility and cost.”

Some respondents suggested possible compromises, including keeping accessible and short-term parking downtown or providing shuttles designed to accommodate wheelchairs and people with limited mobility.

Who Pays For It?

Cost was another recurring question.

Several respondents who supported exploring intercept parking said Canmore homeowners should not be expected to shoulder the cost of building and operating it.

“I do not want the resident taxpayers to absorb this cost,” one respondent wrote, suggesting visitors could pay an hourly or daily parking fee that includes transit into town.

Another supported the concept but said it should be “financed in such a way that tourists and not home owners should pay for it.”

Others suggested a small parking charge or a user-funded parkade.

The Town has not proposed a facility or determined how one would be funded.

A Parking Lot Is Only Part Of The Equation

Many respondents said an intercept lot would only work if getting from it to downtown was easy.

Frequent transit was mentioned repeatedly, along with safe walking and cycling connections.

“It needs to be close enough that people will be able to walk into town,” one respondent wrote. “Most visitors coming to downtown aren’t planning on biking around.”

Another said a site should be located along existing transportation corridors and connected by “walkable safe trails” and frequent transit.

Location generated plenty of ideas but little consensus.

Respondents suggested areas near the Alberta Visitor Information Centre, the railway, Three Sisters and other locations around town. Several also suggested that any future facility should be planned alongside a potential Calgary-to-Banff passenger rail service.

One respondent summed up the challenge in three words:

“The big issue is: Where?”

Some Say The Goal Should Be Fewer Cars, Not More Parking

Opposition represented just over one in 10 votes, but several comments raised a broader question: should Canmore be finding somewhere to store more vehicles at all?

“Reducing the number of cars coming into town is a better option,” one respondent wrote, arguing for trains, buses and shuttles instead.

Another worried that adding a large parking facility could simply make it easier for more people to drive to Canmore.

“Build it and they will come,” the respondent wrote. “And even more will come.”

That concern also appeared among some supporters.

One respondent described their yes vote as “conditional,” arguing that the long-term goal should be reducing the amount of parking required per visitor by getting more people to arrive in Canmore by public transportation or bicycle.

In that view, intercept parking may help manage the vehicles already arriving, but it does not address the larger question of how many vehicles should be coming into town in the first place.

Strong Support, With Plenty Left To Answer

The poll suggests there is substantial interest among respondents in Canmore at least exploring parking outside downtown.

But the comments also show that support for the concept does not amount to agreement on what should actually be built.

Respondents raised questions about location, cost, transit frequency, downtown parking and how seniors and people with disabilities would continue to access businesses and services.

Those are questions Canmore may soon have to consider.

The Town is currently developing its updated Integrated Transportation Plan, which will guide transportation, transit, pathways and parking policy through 2040.

Tourism Canmore Kananaskis has stressed that intercept parking was only one suggestion and that decisions should be based on data and future forecasting.

The poll points to a similar conclusion.

Nearly nine in 10 respondents want Canmore to explore the idea. What that parking would look like, where it would go and whether it would actually reduce congestion are much less settled questions.