Would A Huge Parking Lot Outside Downtown Actually Help Canmore?

Canmore is considering how residents and visitors will move around the community over the next 15 years, and one local organization has suggested giving drivers a place to park before they reach downtown.

Tourism Canmore Kananaskis (TCK) raised parking outside the busiest parts of town as one possible way to ease parking and congestion pressures, particularly during the busy summer season.

The idea is called intercept parking. It aims to intercept drivers before they reach the busiest parts of town, allowing them to park and continue by transit, walking or cycling.

However, TCK is not presenting the idea as a complete solution or saying Canmore should build a parking facility.

“Intercept parking was just one of the many suggestions we included in our submission to the Town regarding their new Integrated Transportation Plan,” said Rachel Ludwig, CEO of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis.

“We understand there is never a single solution and believe planning should be based on strong data and future forecasting.”

The Town is developing an updated Integrated Transportation Plan that will bring its transportation, pathways, transit and parking policies into one document. The plan is intended to guide how Canmore manages transportation and parking through 2040.

Canmore’s roads are getting busier as the community grows and attracts more visitors. At the same time, the Trans-Canada Highway, Bow River, railway and narrow valley limit the space available for new transportation infrastructure.

Canmore recorded more than 10.3 million vehicle trips in 2025. However, the share of summer trips made by personal vehicle fell from 81 percent in 2022 to 75 percent in 2025.

Walking, cycling and transit accounted for 25 percent of summer trips last year, up from 19 percent in 2022.

The Town wants 40 percent of trips on a typical summer day to be made by walking, cycling or transit by 2030.

A Community Asking For Alternatives

The suggestion comes as Canmore residents call for improvements to walking, cycling and transit.

The Town received more than 1,316 pieces of public feedback during the first phase of engagement on its transportation plan this spring.

Residents raised concerns about pathway safety, winter maintenance, transit coverage and parking. Many said they would walk, cycle or take transit more often if those options better met their needs.

Parking availability was the most frequently identified transportation challenge among drivers who responded to the Town’s survey.

Community organizations involved in a stakeholder workshop also called for better parking management and a more coordinated approach to visitor transportation.

TCK’s submission recommended a stronger focus on visitor transportation, including parking outside downtown, regional partnerships, active transportation and better forecasts of future travel demand.

For TCK, the goal is not simply to find another place for visitors to leave their vehicles.

“It’s about continuing to build a downtown that’s accessible and easy to move around on foot, bike, or transit, for residents and visitors alike, all year round,” Ludwig said.

“Having the data to support any next steps and decisions is the first step.”

The Idea Is Already In Canmore’s Plans

Parking outside downtown is not a new idea in Canmore.

The Town’s Connect Downtown plan, adopted by council as a 25-year blueprint for the town centre, includes an “intercept parking facility to help manage parking demand.”

The facility is mentioned alongside plans for a more walkable downtown, expanded public spaces and safer, more efficient transportation.

However, the plan does not commit the Town to building a particular parking lot. The Town also notes that major capital projects included in Connect Downtown depend on securing funding.

The current transportation planning process could provide a broader framework for deciding whether such a facility belongs in Canmore’s transportation network, where it could be located and how it might operate.

TCK said any decision would likely involve several stakeholders and require discussions about location and financial feasibility.

The organization has not proposed a specific site.

Banff Offers An Example And A Warning

Canmore would not be the first mountain community in the region to try this approach.

Banff opened its train station parking lot in 2019, adding hundreds of free, long-term parking spaces near the edge of downtown. The goal was to encourage visitors to leave their vehicles there instead of driving into the town centre.

The lot has been paired with other measures, including paid downtown parking and transit connections.

According to the Town of Banff, it intercepts about 11 percent of traffic that would otherwise head downtown.

Banff’s experience also shows that parking outside the core is not a complete solution to congestion.

A Town report said the train station lot reaches peak occupancy on weekends and many weekdays in July and August. Banff continues to study additional parking options while also considering transit, measures to discourage driving and other ways to manage growing visitor numbers.

The Town’s transportation research has found that drivers need a reason to leave their vehicles outside downtown. That could include convenient transit, free parking, clear visitor information or paid parking elsewhere.

Banff currently directs visitors who need to drive toward the free train station lot, which is about an eight-minute walk from downtown and connected to the Roam transit network.

Canmore would face a similar question if it pursued the idea. Would people park outside the town centre if driving downtown remained the more convenient option?

The Next Step Is Data

TCK says that question should be answered before Canmore decides what infrastructure to build.

The organization said parking and congestion are frequent concerns among its members, visitors and residents, particularly during summer. However, it believes any response should be based on data and future projections rather than assumptions.

The Town is now moving from its first round of public engagement toward developing a draft transportation plan.

More than 1,316 contributions were received during the March and April engagement period. The final plan is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and brought to council for approval in the first quarter of 2027.

Whether parking outside downtown becomes part of that plan, and what it could look like, remains to be determined.