The Town of Banff’s engineering director says, “We can’t choose not to have a traffic jam.
Parks Canada says that summer 2023 is likely to be the busiest season ever in Banff National Park, and it wants people to plan ahead so they don’t waste time driving around the parking lot.
The warning comes after the agency had to limit access to Lake Louise Drive for a short time during the August long weekend because of too much traffic and visitors. This is the second time this summer that these restrictions have been put in place.
“We are breaking records, and right now we’re on track to have the busiest season ever in Banff National Park,” said Francois Masse, the Parks Canada field unit superintendent for Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay.
He said, “Lake Louise is the center of the problem.” “But this is happening all over the park.”
For example, Lake Minnewanka and Johnston Canyon are also full to the brim.
Tim Nokes’s family has owned the Johnston Canyon Lodge and Bungalows for almost a century. He says that the hiking trail has always been popular, but that the flow of visitors is like a weather phenomenon right now.
“I kind of call it a “tsunami of people” because it’s hard to know when so many will show up at once,” he said.
He wants Parks Canada to tell people about Kananaskis Country, Kootenay National Park, and Yoho National Park, all of which are close by.
Nokes says that the increase in traffic is because more people are moving to Calgary, the city is getting more attention around the world, and social media is having an effect.
“Social media is one of those things that seems like it can’t be stopped. Someone will take a great picture and post it on Instagram. Suddenly, thousands or even tens of thousands of people will want the same picture. So that would be hard to change.”
Adrian Field, who is in charge of engineering for the town, says that Banff is also very busy. He says that the town has a congestion threshold of about 24,000 cars per day, which has been passed every day this summer.
“What that really means is that we can decide where to get stuck in traffic, but we can’t decide not to get stuck in traffic.”
But, he says, more people are choosing to take the bus or walk instead of driving.
Banff Lake Louise Tourism’s director of experience development, David Matys, said that people who want to visit should plan ahead, have a plan B, and think about traveling in the shoulder season or winter.
“We’ve heard that people are upset at some of our biggest attractions, where they drive up thinking they can get there easily without planning ahead or getting out of their car. “But that’s not true anymore,” Matys said.
He also said that people should think about going to places other than the big tourist spots.
“This park is really big. There are some amazing things to do and see all over the park, and there’s a lot more to see and do in Banff and Lake Louise than the four or five main attractions that most people know about.
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