Connect Downtown: Planning a Vibrant Town Centre
Get Involved
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Visioning phase of the project. Your contributions are instrumental in shaping the future of our community. We are currently reviewing feedback received during the process and will release a comprehensive What We Heard Report alongside a Visioning Document later this spring.
Follow this page as we prepare for the next engagement phase of the project this summer where we will seek your input on potential policy options for downtown.
What is Connect Downtown?
A Plan for The Future of Our Downtown Area
An ARP lays out a comprehensive vision supported by a land use concept, a public realm plan, and a set of supporting development policies that will work in unison over the next 25 years to the year 2050.
The project's name, Connect Downtown: Planning a Vibrant Town Centre, reflects the intent of the plan: to reimagine how people can access, gather, and interact with a network of public spaces to support a thriving mixed-use area over the long term.
Connect Downtown will span 18 months from public launch to completion with a final product — an ARP— that will explore a variety of interconnected questions, including:
- What is the future function and role of Main Street?
- What is the look and feel of the public realm and open space network?
- Where is future development and what should it look?
- Are there opportunities to achieve more attainable housing?
- What is the future demand for services and infrastructure?
- What will the transportation network and transit system look like?
- How can the long-term demand and supply of parking be managed?
Study Area
The study area is the general area that will be examined through the planning process. Connect Downtown considers a study area beyond the current downtown commercial core to acknowledge the impacts that changes to the Main Street and the commercial area of Downtown may have on the surrounding community.
While we anticipate that only certain locations within the study area will be identified for land use changes (which will be informed by research, analysis, and engagement), this approach allows us to consider the experience of Downtown as a whole.
Learn More
- Read the existing Town Centre Enhancement Concept Plan
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Share Your Big Ideas on Facebook Share Your Big Ideas on Twitter Share Your Big Ideas on Linkedin Email Your Big Ideas link
What’s Your Big Idea for Downtown Canmore? Add it to the ideas board below. You can also vote for your favourites that have been added by other community members.
View All Ideas3 months ago
Better use of parking lots
Make better use of downtown parking lots. Instead of filling up downtown with cars, why not turn it into Indoor/Outdoor market/dining/hanging out spaces? Make it a destination for people to go.
4 months ago
year-round street activation: buskers, fire pits (winter), more off-season downtown-focused events like The Warm Up, art displays, etc.
3 months ago
Food Trucks
In every Town across North America, Food Trucks and municipalities have come up with rules for Food Trucks to operate. In vibrant, tourist locations, parks, beach areas and other areas that offer no other services a Food Truck offers guests an affordable, unique alternative to the brick-and-mortar restaurants. Under the current rules in Canmore Food Trucks are not allowed to offer foods on public land. If you would like to operate in Canmore, you must work out rent with a private landowner and show the Town of Canmore the lease agreement. You must apply for a Temporary/Seasonal permit and outline the area you have rented to the Town. Then you are required to apply for a development permit and lay out the area you are renting. Due to this now being a change of use, even if it is a parking lot. This process takes 2-3 months. It is an absolute gong show and does no support Free Enterprise. There are several municipalities within Alberta that have successful Food Truck programs set up. It is time for the Town of Canmore to jump into the 2024 and update their Food Truck policies.
3 months ago
Open up Centennial Park Ie: Riverside Park Pet friendly, picnic/activity areas Encourage more outdoor markets and festivals to be held here
