When you drive the Trans Canada Highway eastbound between Banff and Canmore, you pass by the Valleyview Picinic area. It is hard to miss as there is good signage indicating the pull-off to access this beautiful spot. But have you noticed the small white cross at this very spot, bearing the name Collin Cureatz?
If you stop at the Valleyview Picinic area, there is an access gate to the other side of the wildlife fence near the washrooms. A few meters beyond that gate is a memorial bench with a tribute to a young man who lost his life, while on a cross-Canada cycle tour after graduating from university, to an unlicensed driver who had been drinking.
Let us count our blessings that on this one small section of Canada’s Trans Canada Highway, this 20+ km connecting Canmore and Banff, people can bicycle in safety on the Legacy Trail thanks to collaboration between many stakeholders and levels of government. We need more safe infrastructure like this in our community, our province, and across our country.