Quarry Lake Parking Problems Persist Despite 741 Tickets This Summer

Parking at Quarry Lake continues to be an issue this summer with 741 tickets issued at the park so far between June 1 and Aug. 13 and another 83 more on Spray Lakes road.

The majority of the tickets, 509, were issued for parking without payment despite new signs going up to make the need for payment more explicit.

“We had made changes to Quarry Lake signage as a result of the new parking vendor, and based on feedback from our team and observations on patrol, wanted to further clarify that payment is required, what the hours are and what's not allowed,” said Greg Burt, Supervisor of Municipal Enforcement for the Town of Canmore.

August Long weekend from July 31 to Aug. 3 accounted for 108 violations alone, an average of 27 parking tickets issued per day.

In 2024, the Town changed its parking fines at Quarry Lake, removing an early-payment discount that had allowed a $90 ticket to be reduced to $45 if paid within a week. That discount still applies to parking tickets elsewhere in Canmore, but not at Quarry Lake.

During peak season, parking at Quarry Lake costs $20 for every two hours. That means a stay of more than eight hours can cost more than the $90 fine for not paying at all. Visitors can pay up to $120 in advance online for stays longer than 10 hours.

The Town does not track how long ticketed vehicles remain parked, so it is unclear whether any visitors are deliberately choosing to risk the $90 fine rather than paying for a full day.

“If people are willing to risk a $90 ticket to spend the day there, and we're issuing hundreds of tickets while the illegal parking and congestion continue, then clearly we need to ask whether the strategy is actually changing behaviour,” said Lorna Hartley a 37-year Canmore resident who recently engaged in a large informal conversation about the issues at Quarry Lake on Facebook.

Concerned residents say they want to see parking enforcement change behaviour, not simply result in more tickets. The revenue generated by enforcement at Quarry Lake is split with the Rocky Mountain Heritage Foundation, which co-owns the park with the town. The town's revenue from tickets, along with paid parking revenue, goes into a pool that helps cover operational expenses and fund Roam transit.

Canmore residents get three hours of parking per day free at Quarry Lake, and 8,759 transactions used this free period from June 1 to Aug. 12.

While parking is the easiest way to show the numbers and the clearest indicator of how busy Quarry Lake has become, it is far from the only concern that residents were talking about on Hartley’s social media post.

"Parking may have started the conversation, but what emerged were concerns about emergency access, water safety, garbage and wildlife attractants, environmental stewardship, overcrowding, infrastructure, enforcement and future growth,” said Hartley. “What has been particularly interesting is that the conversation has continued offline. I've gone out walking my dogs and ended up talking with long-time residents about exactly the same concerns. It became obvious very quickly that this wasn't something only I was frustrated about.”

Similar concerns have also surfaced through the Town’s recent public engagement as it updates several long-term planning documents, including its Open Spaces and Trails Plan (OSTP), which guides how Canmore plans and manages parks, trails and open spaces.

In the Town’s What We Heard report from that engagement, residents generally rated Canmore’s parks highly. More than 80 per cent of survey respondents, 374 of 464, gave the parks a score of seven out of 10 or higher.

However, residents also raised concerns that some spaces are “too busy during tourist season” and “almost impossible for locals to access.” Quarry Lake was specifically identified as a concern for overuse, while the cost of parking beyond the three free hours provided to Canmore residents was cited as another barrier to accessing the park.

The Town is monitoring parking numbers at Quarry Lake, and they could lead to future changes, according to Nicky Pacas, Communications Advisor for the Town of Canmore.

The OSTP update will consider trailhead parking and access at locations including Quarry Lake. At the same time, the Town is updating its Integrated Transportation Plan (ITP), which will guide transportation, transit and parking decisions through 2040.

Both plans are moving through five-phase public engagement processes before drafts are presented to council. Pacas said the draft OSTP is expected to go to council late this year or in early 2027.

For now, enforcement remains the Town's primary tool for managing crowds at Quarry Lake, while plans for longer-term changes, through the OSTP and ITP updates, move toward being presented to council. Burt said the goal isn't simply to hand out tickets, but to protect a park that means a great deal to the community.

"I just think Quarry Lake is a very special place and it's near and dear to locals' hearts in the community, and we ask that they respect that,” said Burt