Last year, Parks Canada banned personal vehicles from Moraine Lake Road because of overflowing parking lots, illegal parking and high traffic levels.
In 2022, traffic flaggers were needed 24 hours a day to manage congestion on the road.
The Moraine Lake parking lot was always full during the peak of summer 2022.
Only 900 vehicles could find parking daily, while more than 5,000 visitors were turned away.
Imagine driving miles only to be refused parking. People were steaming mad and needed a place to vent their frustrations.
More often than not, employees faced the brunt of visitors’ anger.
Moraine Lake needed a solution, and it needed it fast.
New Challenges
The ban on personal vehicles was meant to push visitors to use the area’s shuttle services, including Parks Canada Shuttle, commercial buses, taxis, and Roam Transit.
And the shuttle service worked well for most visitors.
However, the vehicle ban created new challenges for people not travelling to Moraine Lake just to sightsee.
Climbers, skiers, guides, and backcountry hikers require early and reliable access to the area for safety reasons.
For example, the descent is the most dangerous part of any climb.
If a climber gets caught in the dark, the journey down becomes even more dangerous.
No one wants to be hanging off the side of a mountain in the dark.
Starting a climb as the sun rises ensures climbers have time to descend while it’s still light out.
Limited shuttle hours might motivate climbers to cut corners or take dangerous shortcuts to return to the lakeshore on time for the last shuttle back at 7:30 PM.
Guides and photographers also require early access to Moraine Lake for their jobs.
But, currently, the earliest Parks Canada shuttle starts at 6:30 AM, which is not early enough to catch first light if you’re a photographer, especially in June when sunrise starts as early as 5:20 AM.
A New Solution
To get around shuttles that don’t start early enough, people travelling to Moraine Lake for work have relied on private companies, which is both costly and unreliable.
Parks Canada has stepped up to fill the gap: two new shuttles, called the Alpine Start option, will run at 4 AM and 5 AM daily.
“So that people can get up there a little bit sooner than they could with the regular shuttle system, and they’ll be able to come back down using the regular shuttle system,” said François Masse, Parks Canada’s Field Unit Superintendent for Lake Louise.
The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) thinks the new Alpine Start option is great.
“Somewhere like this is…one of the crown jewels of mountain culture and climbing objectives. We want to be able to offer those experiences,” said ACMG’s Assistant Technical Director Evan Stevens.
But people aren’t perfect, and life isn’t predictable.
What happens if you don’t finish your climb fast enough and miss the last shuttle back?
You could try your luck and call a taxi or other shuttle service, but there’s no guarantee someone will pick up the phone.
Getting stuck in the mountains after dark is dangerous, especially if you aren’t prepared.
Parks Canada’s solution is to have a dedicated operator with a special license to pick people up after hours.
“It’s not going to be cheap though, so hopefully people don’t plan and bank on that,” said Parks Canada’s Masse.
Reducing Impact
Expanding shuttle services is a step toward reducing traffic in the area without limiting access to Moraine Lake.
More people using shuttles will also reduce emissions in the area and reduce noise and air pollution from passenger vehicles.
But Will it Work?
Parks Canada’s shuttle solution looks good on paper, but will it hold up when shuttle services start in June?
Time will tell.
