Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Muta]

"Parks are for people here in Alberta" - Todd Loewen, Ministry of Forestry, Parks & Tourism

Nah dude, only those who can afford to go. Don't forget (although I'm sure its convenient for the UCP to), Albertans have to pay to access their own parks now.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I feel like you guys have never been to the parking lot at Lake Louise Ski Resort or Sunshine Village. Yeah, parking lots are kinda ugly, but it is what it is. It's also exacerbated by concentrating a gazillion people into, like, four attractions in the mountains and don't add any access or infrastructure to the 782 other beautiful attractions except for very fit hikers.

Train + shuttles. A pretty easy and effective solution.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I feel like you guys have never been to the parking lot at Lake Louise Ski Resort or Sunshine Village. Yeah, parking lots are kinda ugly, but it is what it is. It's also exacerbated by concentrating a gazillion people into, like, four attractions in the mountains and don't add any access or infrastructure to the 782 other beautiful attractions except for very fit hikers.

This has been park policy for years. They've pretty much given up opening the back country, and all the staff who used to do it are gone. Rangers and ranger cabins are seldom used anymore. They want to concentrate tourists in a few tight areas to bring money in to manage the rest of the parks.

The reality is, places like Moraine Lake can only handle so many people. Buses are a good solution, as increasing parking would just exacerbate other problems, like driving through LL. It worked before because there were fewer people. Since we refuse to accept that overpopulation is an issue, we better get used to these solutions. And capitalism requires extracting maximum dollars through minimum costs. Thus, buses.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Shuttles are lame AF. I'm not getting in one of those.

You can choose not to go.

Shuttles work well on Glacier, Yosemite, Bryce, and Zion.

An alternative would be to do like Arches and have set entrance times to the park itself.

I’d be on favour of $100 per car at moraine lake to subsidize the shuttle system

Shuttles will allow for increased numbers of people if you look at Zion for example.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

You look at these amazing mountain towns in Europe like Davos, Lugano, Innsbruck, etc. and it's too bad that was never really recreated in Canada. You just have Banff and Jasper which is basically Tourist-trap and Tourist-trap Jr.

I guess it's fine for some people if it's truly what someone wants, but to anyone that's been to any of the European towns (or even some in the US), it abundantly clear that Banff is actually a bit of a dump.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by you&me

I guess it's fine for some people if it's truly what someone wants, but to anyone that's been to any of the European towns (or even some in the US), it abundantly clear that Banff is actually a bit of a dump.

Really? US has some of the dumpiest towns among their national parks. I just drove through Joshua Tree and the towns looked like they were something out of Deliverance.

In Europe those picturesque little towns probably grew organically over the years. They also wouldn’t have to contend with the affect on nature of F350s puking up smoke around town. Maybe if we were more sensible we could have nicer things too. Left to ourselves, everything would end up looking like McLean Creek after a long weekend.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

Train + shuttles. A pretty easy and effective solution.

If a person’s only purpose to travelling to the mountains is to take pictures from within 500m of their car, they should have to take the shuttle.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by you&me

I guess it's fine for some people if it's truly what someone wants, but to anyone that's been to any of the European towns (or even some in the US), it abundantly clear that Banff is actually a bit of a dump.

Well yeah, but compared to some of those European Mountain Towns Banff is also 'Cheap like Borscht.'

I mean, I guess you get what you pay for.

[TheIronMaiden]

I am of two minds about this.

I understand that paving nature is undesirable.
That said, if we want to diversify Alberta's economy tourism is a legitimate option.
Obviously, everything in moderation, shuttles and buses ect. That said, there are acres and acres of land that will never be touched, moraine lake is already stupid busy and overflowing with people parking where ever they like. It is not a build it and they will come. Parking in K country, banff area is already crazy.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I understand that paving nature is undesirable.
That said, if we want to diversify Alberta's economy tourism is a legitimate option.
Obviously, everything in moderation, shuttles and buses ect. That said, there are acres and acres of land that will never be touched, moraine lake is already stupid busy and overflowing with people parking where ever they like. It is not a build it and they will come. Parking in K country, banff area is already crazy.

Adding more parking won't fix the problem. At Moraine Lake they could double the parking lot size today and still not be able to handle the demand. If they somehow added enough to meet today's demand, it would only encourage more people to pack the area and we're right back where we started.

[chedder]

Always thought a golf resort south of chain lakes off highway 22 would be great. Would be tough though, as it's almost all privately owned ranch land. The mountains just to the west are spectacular too.

I just don't think there is any political will to build anything new in the mountains and environmentalists would tie any proposal up in lawsuits for an eternity.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Locke

Well yeah, but compared to some of those European Mountain Towns Banff is also 'Cheap like Borscht.'

I mean, I guess you get what you pay for.

Verbier is renowned for its cheap and abundant parking to make things accessible for the masses.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

I'm torn between allowing access, not letting things get too crowded, liking the convenience of driving, and not particularly caring for shuttles.

Moraine lake is already too crowded, so that ship has sailed, and I don't think we should restrict access to national parks if we can avoid it, so we have to find a solution to move people around.

Massive parking lots, and too many cars idling do more to ruin the experience for me than having to take a shuttle, so it seems like the optimums solution.

You remove the nuisance of parking lots and idling cars, and allow access for more people at the expense of individual convenience.
I think that's about as optimum as you can get.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by you&me

I guess it's fine for some people if it's truly what someone wants, but to anyone that's been to any of the European towns (or even some in the US), it abundantly clear that Banff is actually a bit of a dump.

It could be worse, it could be shudder Whistler.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

It could be worse, it could be shudder Whistler.

Whistler is awesome. I love how there are no cars allowed downtown. That was the plan for Three Sisters Mountain Resort in Canmore, but the dopes/NIMBYs/I-got-mine-so-GFY pricks who live there kyboshed it.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

Verbier is renowned for its cheap and abundant parking to make things accessible for the masses.

Is it now? You see, thats really forward thinking of them.

Lets just check out some bookings aaaand....I see...

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Whistler is awesome. I love how there are no cars allowed downtown. That was the plan for Three Sisters Mountain Resort in Canmore, but the dopes/NIMBYs/I-got-mine-so-GFY pricks who live there kyboshed it.

Whistler is run by the NIMBYist NIMBYs that ever NIMBYd though.

It's like they transplanted Banff to BC but gave it a 90s outdoor mall stucco makeover.

Also the Fairmont there is probably the worst one, even after their recent renovations.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Whistler is awesome. I love how there are no cars allowed downtown. That was the plan for Three Sisters Mountain Resort in Canmore, but the dopes/NIMBYs/I-got-mine-so-GFY pricks who live there kyboshed it.

I'll fight you on Three Sisters Mountain Resort until the heat death of the universe.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Whistler is awesome. I love how there are no cars allowed downtown. That was the plan for Three Sisters Mountain Resort in Canmore, but the dopes/NIMBYs/I-got-mine-so-GFY pricks who live there kyboshed it.

Canmorons are the worst. Just the worst.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Whistler is awesome. I love how there are no cars allowed downtown. That was the plan for Three Sisters Mountain Resort in Canmore, but the dopes/NIMBYs/I-got-mine-so-GFY pricks who live there kyboshed it.

Thank goodness people were thinking about the future generations and ensured Three Sisters Mountain Resort would have access. What kind of lame, ableist alternative modes would people be subjected to?