Parks Canada prepares for Banff National Park tourism onslaught

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Parks Canada officials are hoping to tame ever-worsening vehicle congestion at Lake Louise, which has reached the point of disrupting emergency response.

To reduce those traffic volumes this summer, the agency has nearly doubled the parking fee at the Lake Louise lakefront lot while maintaining the $8 adult charge for shuttles to that site and nearby Moraine Lake.

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“There were situations where traffic was at such a standstill that it was not impeded but it was difficult for emergency personnel to access (upper Lake Louise),” said Parks Canada spokeswoman Lindsay McPherson.

“That’s when we do find ourselves going into those staged traffic restrictions, where we’re limiting vehicles until everything is flushed through and the traffic can flow safely again.”

There have been times in the past when traffic flow on the Trans-Canada Highway has been disrupted by the gridlock backing up from Lake Louise, said Parks Canada spokesman James Eastham.

Last summer, Parks Canada officials were twice forced to halt traffic on the highway flowing into Lake Louise village because of congestion, they said.

In 2023, an average of 1,200 vehicles used the Lake Louise lot each day, with staff turning away from 3,000 to 5,000 daily, Parks Canada said.

From May 17 to Oct. 14, a daily parking fee of $36.75 per vehicle will be charged at the lot, which ushers visitors to the iconic glacier-fed lake from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. That’s nearly double the $21 fee charged last summer and more than triple the $11.70 parking cost in 2021.

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There are no hourly rates.

The fee hike is also meant to cover the dramatically increasing costs of shuttle contracting and traffic management, which jumped from $5.71 million in 2022-23 to $9.71 million this year.

Revenue this year from parking and shuttles covered about $5.2 million, or just over half, of that $9.71 million and was used to keep the costs of that bus service low, said the federal agency.

‘Lake Louise, Moraine Lake the pinnacle of what people want to come and see’

Parks Canada officials are encouraging visitors to use their summer shuttle from the Lake Louise park and ride to the lake and Moraine Lake, which costs $8 for adults, half that for seniors and is free for those under 18.

“We’re hoping that by providing an economic incentive to take a shuttle, fewer people will choose to drive,” said Eastham.

But even then, demand for those shuttles causes its own online gridlock, with reservations being snapped up within 45 minutes of them becoming available, he added.

Additional measures to control crowds in the future are dependent on what transpires in the coming tourism season, said McPherson.

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“In subsequent years, it’ll really be determined on what happens this year,” she said.

Officials are also in the early stages of crafting a visitor management plan for the Moraine Lake-Lake Louise area aimed at ensuring sustainable visitation.

Some of the focus is on environmental conservation, said Eastham.

“The traffic management program does have an ecological impact,” he said.

Since private traffic was prohibited last year on Moraine Lake Road, the vehicular volume on it has dropped by 60 per cent, which eases the pressure on wildlife, said Eastham.

Banff National Park is by far Canada’s busiest, attracting more than four million visitors a year, with most of those coming from the surrounding region.

But Parks Canada officials say the number of visitors driving from the U.S. is recovering from pandemic levels — many of them heading to its twin crown jewels Lake Louise and nearby Moraine Lake, said McPherson.

“Banff National Park is an iconic destination and Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are the pinnacle of what people want to come and see,” she said.

“What it really comes down to is visitors need to expect when they come here that they’re going to encounter a busy place. They should be flexible with their timelines and have a back-up plan.”

New this summer is the Alpine Start Shuttle to Moraine Lake, which will leave the Lake Louise lakeshore lot at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. It will have the same fares as the daytime shuttles, said Parks Canada.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

X (Twitter) @BillKaufmannjrn

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