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Expert Advisory Panel on Moving People Sustainably in the Banff Bow Valley

Consultation has concluded

What We Heard report - available now!

In May 2021, Parks Canada established an expert advisory panel and sought their advice to inform the development of a comprehensive people movement plan for Banff National Park. The scope of the work included the management and coordination of access, use and infrastructure at key park destinations in, and adjacent to, the Bow Valley in the park. The panel was asked based upon their expertise, and Indigenous, public, and stakeholder consultation to recommend possible innovative solutions for Parks Canada to consider in the development of a comprehensive people movement plan. The Expert Advisory Panel has now completed its work and submitted a final report to Parks Canada. You can read the final report on the Banff National Park website.

What We Heard:

The expert advisory panel’s final report identified eight key strategies to move toward a more sustainable future. The expert panel’s final report was delivered in August 2022. In 2023 we asked the public to provide feedback on the final report and let Parks Canada know what was missed.

Overall, nearly 200 comments were received during the public and Indigenous engagement process. Parks Canada will continue to engage with Indigenous partners to determine how to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the sustainable people movement strategy for Banff National Park.

A summary of comments and the final expert panel report is available online.

What’s next?

Parks Canada remains committed to exploring sustainable green transportation solutions in national parks, which is demonstrated through our ongoing investments in sustainable mass transit to, from and within Banff National Park.

Parks Canada has an important regulatory role in reviewing all proposals for use and development on national park lands to ensure conformance with relevant and applicable policy and legislation, including the Impact Assessment Act (2019), as well as alignment with national park priorities and objectives.

Since the release of the expert advisory panel’s final report, Parks Canada has already made strides toward a more sustainable future for the park, and begun to implement some of the recommendations made by the expert panel, including:

  1. Reducing private vehicle arrival by communicating through the Transportation Shift communications and marketing campaign. This campaign is a partnership with Town of Banff and Banff Lake Louise Tourism and encourages visitors to use transit to travel to and within Banff National Park.
  2. Improving and trialing mobility hubs such as the Lake Louise Park and Ride, which has been located at the Lake Louise Ski Resort since 2022. This parking area has improved visitor experience by offering more parking spots, safer access than the former location located on the Trans-Canada Highway, and easier wayfinding. A pilot Park and Ride on the Minnewanka Loop was trialed in 2023 to support connectivity to the Town of Banff.
  3. Improving and diversifying public transportation options by piloting winter routes such as Roam Public Transit to Johnston Canyon on weekends and On-It transportation from Calgary to Banff during the 2023 holiday season. Additionally, Parks Canada is supporting the private shuttle operators in the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake area through improving bus loops and creating a permit system for commercial access to Moraine Lake Road.
  4. Developing and encouraging active transportation through offers such as the three-year Bow Valley Parkway Cycling Pilot that started in 2022, incorporating improved wayfinding, communication and working with partners to promote the offer.
  5. Continuing to work with regional partners such as the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission and On-It Transit by investing in and expanding transit offers to and within Banff National Park. Connecting the systems through scheduling and passes are incremental steps to a more unified transit system.
  6. Using pricing as a tool to encourage use of shuttles. Incentivizing transit to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake by keeping shuttles affordable. It is now more cost effective for a family of four to take Parks Canada shuttles to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake than to pay for parking at Lake Louise.
  7. Continuing ongoing and expanding visitor use data collection to better understand visitor experiences and how transportation is used at key nodes including Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Lake Minnewanka. Parks Canada will undertake the Visitor Information Program Survey in 2024 and this information combined with visitor survey data collected through the Transportation Shift partnership will support a better understanding of patterns of use, motivations and behaviours to help inform site-specific visitor use planning.

What We Heard report - available now!

In May 2021, Parks Canada established an expert advisory panel and sought their advice to inform the development of a comprehensive people movement plan for Banff National Park. The scope of the work included the management and coordination of access, use and infrastructure at key park destinations in, and adjacent to, the Bow Valley in the park. The panel was asked based upon their expertise, and Indigenous, public, and stakeholder consultation to recommend possible innovative solutions for Parks Canada to consider in the development of a comprehensive people movement plan. The Expert Advisory Panel has now completed its work and submitted a final report to Parks Canada. You can read the final report on the Banff National Park website.

What We Heard:

The expert advisory panel’s final report identified eight key strategies to move toward a more sustainable future. The expert panel’s final report was delivered in August 2022. In 2023 we asked the public to provide feedback on the final report and let Parks Canada know what was missed.

Overall, nearly 200 comments were received during the public and Indigenous engagement process. Parks Canada will continue to engage with Indigenous partners to determine how to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the sustainable people movement strategy for Banff National Park.

A summary of comments and the final expert panel report is available online.

What’s next?

Parks Canada remains committed to exploring sustainable green transportation solutions in national parks, which is demonstrated through our ongoing investments in sustainable mass transit to, from and within Banff National Park.

Parks Canada has an important regulatory role in reviewing all proposals for use and development on national park lands to ensure conformance with relevant and applicable policy and legislation, including the Impact Assessment Act (2019), as well as alignment with national park priorities and objectives.

Since the release of the expert advisory panel’s final report, Parks Canada has already made strides toward a more sustainable future for the park, and begun to implement some of the recommendations made by the expert panel, including:

  1. Reducing private vehicle arrival by communicating through the Transportation Shift communications and marketing campaign. This campaign is a partnership with Town of Banff and Banff Lake Louise Tourism and encourages visitors to use transit to travel to and within Banff National Park.
  2. Improving and trialing mobility hubs such as the Lake Louise Park and Ride, which has been located at the Lake Louise Ski Resort since 2022. This parking area has improved visitor experience by offering more parking spots, safer access than the former location located on the Trans-Canada Highway, and easier wayfinding. A pilot Park and Ride on the Minnewanka Loop was trialed in 2023 to support connectivity to the Town of Banff.
  3. Improving and diversifying public transportation options by piloting winter routes such as Roam Public Transit to Johnston Canyon on weekends and On-It transportation from Calgary to Banff during the 2023 holiday season. Additionally, Parks Canada is supporting the private shuttle operators in the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake area through improving bus loops and creating a permit system for commercial access to Moraine Lake Road.
  4. Developing and encouraging active transportation through offers such as the three-year Bow Valley Parkway Cycling Pilot that started in 2022, incorporating improved wayfinding, communication and working with partners to promote the offer.
  5. Continuing to work with regional partners such as the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission and On-It Transit by investing in and expanding transit offers to and within Banff National Park. Connecting the systems through scheduling and passes are incremental steps to a more unified transit system.
  6. Using pricing as a tool to encourage use of shuttles. Incentivizing transit to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake by keeping shuttles affordable. It is now more cost effective for a family of four to take Parks Canada shuttles to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake than to pay for parking at Lake Louise.
  7. Continuing ongoing and expanding visitor use data collection to better understand visitor experiences and how transportation is used at key nodes including Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Lake Minnewanka. Parks Canada will undertake the Visitor Information Program Survey in 2024 and this information combined with visitor survey data collected through the Transportation Shift partnership will support a better understanding of patterns of use, motivations and behaviours to help inform site-specific visitor use planning.