Iconic Banff sign to be relocated for safety reasons

The famous Banff sign that has greeted visitors arriving in the Alberta mountain town is being moved from its current location along Mt. Norquay Road, where it has stood since 2017, to the Banff train station, where it will open to visitors later this year.

Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno and the owners of the Banff railway lands, Adam and Jan Waterous, made the announcement on Tuesday as they broke ground on the location of the new sign.

The sign is being relocated in an effort to reduce congestion and improve traffic and pedestrian safety along Mt. Norquay Road, where many tourists stop illegally to take photographs in front of the Banff sign as they arrive in the town.

Many of them need to cross the road on foot to get to the sign.

Banff gets about four million visitors a year, and the town estimates that Mt. Norquay Avenue sees 55 to 60 per cent of the traffic.

The sign will be opened to visitors at its new location — in a green space, just west of the train station and near the entrance to a free parking lot — in October.

The redevelopment will cost an estimated $1.2 million and will include a new community gathering space, benches, landscaping and pathways.

The new space for the sign and the cost of moving it are being donated by the Waterous family.

&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.