As Banff’s premier outdoor recreational site, the Banff Recreation Grounds is a fundamental component within the community’s active and passive recreation network. The facility provides both programmed and unprogrammed activities, encourages active living, boosts tourism and provides space for large community events and small gatherings. Considering the age of some of the site’s infrastructure, incremental site modifications over the years and the changes in the demographics of visitors and current needs, the site required a roadmap for future improvements and redevelopment. ISL Engineering and Land Services (ISL) was retained to create a site redevelopment plan and provide detailed recommendations to guide redevelopment over three to five years. ISL was responsible for all aspects of project management, site analysis, assessment and design.

Challenges

• A long list of requests from multiple stakeholders and the public regarding what should be included in the redevelopment despite only having a confined space and no room for expansion.
• Understanding the perceived versus actual use of the site.
• Need to find a balance between wildlife sustainability and the safety of site users

Solutions

• Worked with RC Strategies to run a rigorous public consultation process over a six month period. Stakeholders and the public were given the opportunity to provide input and comment on the project. ISL developed a plan that meets the needs of the majority of park users and balances user needs, maintenance and capital costs.
• Used wildlife cameras to create time lapse photography that captured quantitative information of onsite usage. This information was then used to make difficult, defensible decisions that will change the way the site is used.
• Worked with the Town and Parks Canada to identify issues relating to wildlife and human interactions onsite. ISL used the information to minimize sudden animal interactions and chances of animal entanglement in parks infrastructure.