Abstract Manager

This presentation explores the reconstruction of two rural roadways in Canmore, Alberta — Bow Valley Trail and Hospital Place — into urban streets featuring active transportation facilities. The conversion provided significant opportunities to enhance pedestrian and cyclist connectivity to the neighbourhood of Teepee Town while improving safety for all users. The design aims to advance the Town of Canmore’s vision of changing “the function of our roads and the way people travel” by creating streets where people want to be.

Bow Valley Trail, an arterial roadway with large ditches, was retrofitted to include a sidewalk and a protected bike path. Traffic calming measures, including narrowing lane widths, chicanes, and medians, improved safety by reducing vehicle speeds and providing pedestrian crossing refuges. Dutch-style continuous sidewalk and bike path crossings were introduced at intersections with local roads, prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists over turning vehicles. The inclusion of active transportation facilities required repurposing ditch space while effectively managing stormwater. Soakaway pits were implemented to locally treat and infiltrate stormwater within the limited space available. Converting a rural road with shallow longitudinal grades to a curb-and-gutter system posed challenges, which were addressed using frequent inlets and silt traps leading to the soakaway pits.

Hospital Place, a residential road with informal parking and no sidewalks, was transformed into an urban street serving users of all modes. The redesign included a multi-use pathway, on-street pocketed parking, and continuous crossings at all intersecting streets and accesses. A raised concrete intersection was constructed to reduce speeds and provide a safe crossing where pedestrians and cyclists are given priority. Low Impact Development (LID) techniques were integrated into the streetscape, addressing stormwater management while enhancing the boulevard’s aesthetic and functional value. Converting the street to an urban cross-section required careful coordination with adjacent property and business owners to address grading and stormwater management challenges.

The project highlights the importance of adapting active transportation best practices to the local context, balancing technical constraints with the needs of all users.