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Canada Day Week Traffic Volume

The Town of Banff Traffic Management Team would like to present the following vehicle volume comparison charts and graphs for the July 1 holiday and the week of Canada Day.

This year, Canada Day occurred on a Wednesday, the furthest day from weekends, making it the least likely year for the regional market to take additional days off to make it a “long weekend.”

However, visitation to Banff in 2026 remained high. The traffic counters at the two entrances recorded 25,876 vehicles in 2026, which is above the congestion threshold of 24,000 vehicles, but 11% below the count on Tuesday, July 1, in 2025, and 4% below the count on Monday, July 1, 2024.

The following week-long data compares Monday to Sunday of the week in which Canada Day occurs with the comparable week in 2025 and in pre-pandemic 2019.

We compare:

2026 – Monday, June 29, to Sunday, July 5

2025 – Monday, June 30, to Sunday, July 6

2019 – Monday, July 1, to Sunday July 7

All volume counts represent two-way traffic. For detailed definitions on each section of this report please see the end of this email.

Main Entrances

Canada Day week Main Entrances combined vehicle volumes was 200,485 in 2026, which is a 4.2% increase from 2025 and a 6.9% increase from pre-COVID 2019.

Bow River Bridge

Canada Day week bridge crossings reached 96,753 in 2016, which is a 4.6% decrease from 2025, and 17.0% lower than pre-COVID 2019 levels.

Mountain Avenue

Mountain Avenue recorded 29,284 vehicles over the Canada Day week in 2026, which is a 6.6% decrease compared to 2025 and a 25.8% decrease compared to pre-COVID 2019.

Roam Ridership

Town of Banff local Routes 1 and 2 carried a combined total of 70,742 riders over the Canada Day week, which is a 9.1% increase compared to 2025.

Max Travel Time Southbound

The maximum southbound travel time recorded over the Canada Day week from the Banff Avenue entrance to downtown was 19 minutes and 9 seconds.

Max Travel Time Northbound

The maximum northbound travel time recorded over the course of the week from the Rimrock to downtown was 14 minutes and 54 seconds.

Definitions

VPD at Town Entrances: Vehicles per day. This figure represents the total number of vehicles recorded at traffic count stations located at the town’s two main entrances—Mount Norquay Road and Banff Avenue—with incoming and outgoing traffic combined. It is calculated as follows: 

VPD at Town Entrances = (Mount Norquay incoming volume + Mount Norquay outgoing volume) + (Banff Avenue incoming volume + Banff Avenue outgoing volume)

The reported VPD does not represent the total number of vehicles in town on a given day; rather, it reflects the number of vehicles moving in and out of town over a 24-hour period.

VPD on Banff Avenue Bridge: Vehicles per day. This figure represents the total number of vehicles recorded (both southbound and northbound combined) over a 24-hour period at a traffic count station located on the north side of the Banff Avenue Bridge.

VPD on Mountain Ave: Vehicles per day. This figure references the total number of vehicles recorded (both southbound and northbound combined) over a 24-hour period at a traffic count station located on Mountain Avenue, up the hill from Middle Springs Drive.

Maximum Travel Time: Maximum Travel Time: This measure shows the longest travel time recorded between key locations and the Banff Avenue/Buffalo Street intersection. The data comes from the iNode Travel Time system, which detects signals from navigation systems, Bluetooth, and Wi‑Fi in devices and vehicles moving through the area.

Town of Banff | 110 Bear Street | Banff, AB T1L1A1 CA

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