Banff sign to move to safer spot for tourist selfies in fall

A popular selfie spot for visitors to Banff National Park is being moved to what town officials say is a safer site.

The two-metre-high, $350,000 sign that simply reads "Banff" was installed in 2017 on Mount Norquay Avenue, one of two entrances into the Alberta mountain park’s idyllic townsite. 

But the narrow two-lane road, which runs from the Mount Norquay Ski Resort seven kilometres away, is fraught with traffic jams, even between the peak tourist seasons of winter and summer. 

The new location — in front of the historic Banff train station, with Mount Norquay in the background — was unveiled at a ceremony Tuesday. 

It's about 600 metres from the original site and next to a free parking lot. The sign is to be moved there, likely overnight, in October.

"The Banff sign is more popular than we could have ever imagined, and there's definitely some safety concerns around folks pulling over to get photos and make memories," said Mayor Corrie DiManno.

"At times, you kind of feel like a Pac-Man game came to life, and council wanted to move (it) to a safer location."

Banff gets about four million visitors a year, and Mount Norquay Avenue sees 55 to 60 per cent of the traffic. In the summer, there are about 17,000 vehicles a day on the avenue, with many pedestrians crossing the road to get to the sign from a nearby parking lot. 

The sign, which was temporarily removed for three days in June during the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, is still busy. Dozens of people lined up Tuesday to snap photos in front of the giant place name.

The $1.2 million cost to move the sign and reinstall it is being paid for by Adam and Jan Waterous, owners of the Mt. Norquay Ski Resort and leaseholders of the Banff Railway Lands.

"What's really been important to us and our family is to reinvigorate the railway lands and restore them to their place as the gateway to Banff," said Jan Waterous.

"We've been working hard to getting a passenger rail train from Calgary to Banff. We hope that will be for another announcement soon. But in the meantime, we're doing what we can to really create a gathering place in this part of Banff."

The Alberta government is studying possibilities for a passenger rail system. Waterous said her family is one of the groups lobbying for Calgary to Banff service.

"Our view is part of getting here is the journey and seeing the mountains. We expect that the next step in the fall will be the province deciding whether to proceed with one or both of these routes," she said.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh