The town of Banff is located in Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of Canada’s Rocky Mountains. The town council and staff work hard to provide the perfect mix of planned and natural attractions, making it an exceptional place to live and visit.

The Town constantly looks for ways to provide eco-friendly solutions for local issues. This includes the continuous improvement of conventional transit service, supported by a growing Roam Transit bus system that includes three hybrid buses and three fully electric buses, with plans to add more electric vehicles.

The design-build team of PCL, MTA Urban Design Architecture Interior Design Inc. and ISL Engineering and Land Services worked closely with the Town of Banff and Roam Transit to design, construct and commission a LEED-targeted transit facility complete with an administrative area and interior and exterior bus storage areas, all within a building footprint of 26,370 square feet.

The project is considered the greenest building in Banff to date thanks to its targeted LEED Gold and Net Zero Carbon certifications, its connection to the new district biomass heating system, and a large solar array that will charge Roam’s electric buses through an integrated system in the storage garage.

The design-build team overcame a number of challenges during this project. The water tables were unseasonably high, which made foundation work tricky. The team worked with the Town and Parks Canada to ensure the large volume of water removed did not enter any waterways and did not affect the surrounding national park.

PCL also worked closely with the Town and Roam Transit to understand the day-to-day operation of the fleet and to mount the bus charging cables on remote control cord reels in the garage’s ceiling space. This kept cables off the garage floor, where they could have been run over or created tripping hazards.

Scott Kovacs, PCL’s field coordinator for the project, sourced a reel solution that met the client’s requirements and saved tens of thousands of dollars.

The new facility provides the Town of Banff with a beautiful, sustainable storage and training facility complete with glazing, composite metal panels, and pre-engineered insulated metal wall and roof panels.

The project was completed on time and on budget in February 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted both labor and suppliers.