New banners connect Crowsnest Pass

Wednesday, 21 August 2013. Posted in Shootin' the Breeze

New banners connect Crowsnest Pass

By Brad Quarin

When Inez Hendrickson saw the new banners featuring the Crowsnest Pass logo on streetlights in downtown Blairmore, she thought they were “absolutely beautiful.”

As the owner of Crockets Trading Company in Bellevue, she thought it would be nice if the other areas of Crowsnest Pass had a few banners as well. Then, on her way to work one day, she saw more than just a few.

“I was totally beside myself,” she says.

Altogether, there are now 158 banners – 58 in Blairmore, 50 in Hillcrest, Bellevue and Coleman and 50 along the highway.

“People are loving them!” Inez says, as they add colour and it’s nice to go from community to community and see them.

She recalls a woman who once came into Crockets and asked if she was in Crowsnest Pass. The new banners should help people know exactly where they are.

The municipality’s chief administrative officer, Myron Thompson, says creating the banners was part of a rebranding process. The Crowsnest Pass logo has been changed to a depiction of mountains, since there was a feeling that the previous logo was aging and it was time to “refresh” how the community presents itself, he says.

Last year, the weathered and wind-damaged banners on Main Street Blairmore were replaced by new ones featuring images common in the Pass, such as mountain climbing.

Placing banners in the other communities of the Pass and along the highway was more challenging. The attachments for banners on streetlights in Blairmore, Coleman and Hillcrest differed, so they had to make sure the banners were secure, Myron notes. The banners outside Blairmore are actually bigger than the ones inside, because the Blairmore streetlamp attachments allowed for only a certain size.

Another problem came when funding for the banners was cut from the municipality’s budget, but this year money for new entrance features for the town also covers the banners. The town gets $200,000 thanks to the Municipal Sustainability Initiative, a provincial program.

The entrance features are monolithic concrete blocks going on the east and west sides of Crowsnest Pass. The objective is to give people “a sense of place, sense of arrival,” and to help connect the entire municipality, Myron says.

Economic development officer Sherry Poole says the banners also help market the area.

Brenda Shenton photo

From the August 14, 2013 print edition of Shootin’ the Breeze. Browse through this week’s online edition by clicking the link above and remember to support the advertisers who bring you the Breeze each week!

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