Rob: Driving through downtown Canmore yesterday to pick up my little guy William from preschool I was enjoying the nice 4-way stop at 7th and 7th, making it a little easier to take that trip. I was thinking to myself, going through the scramble crosswalk area, once that Main Street pedestrian-only area is open to vehicles again on September 24th, is that stuff going to be sticking around?

Tanya: When the closure comes out, the changes to the intersections and the scramble crosswalk are going to remain in place. If we get to a point next spring, or even maybe Christmas, where we’re looking at another closure to the roadway, it would be a lot easier to put in place if these changes remain.

Rob: The scramble is going to stick around at Stonewaters, the 4-way stop is going to stick around at 7th and 7th, the 4-way stop at 10th and Fairholme is going to stick around. What’s going to happen at the end of Main Street by The Wood? They took out that 4-way stop. How is that traffic pattern going to be affected?

Tanya: It’s going to look a lot different and it’s going to take some time to get used to. The flow through will continue towards the Bow River bridge, but if you drive down Main Street and you hit the stop sign there at The Wood, you’ll only be able to turn right. There will be no left hand turns at that intersection. The idea being left hand turns could cause congestion and back up of traffic along Main Street. They want people to adjust their traffic patterns, so if you’re heading over the bridge, you’re taking 10th or 7th instead of Main Street.

Rob: I think a lot of people, where there used to be a 4-way, if they’re going Bow River bridge-way, they’re putting on the brakes as though there is a stop. That’s taken a bit of adjustment here over the summer. I think the no left turn is also going to take some adjustment.

Tanya: You have to think about traffic patterns on a macro level, not just that one intersection, and how all these changes inform each other.

 

(NOTE: A previous version of this segment incorrectly stated the closure would be lifted on September 21st.  The 24th is the correct date)

Filed under: Canmore, Mountain Insider