November 2019 | Vol. 16 Iss. 11
FREE
TOWN HALL SHARED
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS TO SKI TRAFFIC By Joshua Wood | joshw@mycityjournals.com
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deas for addressing traffic gridlock in the Cottonwood Canyons continued to wind their way through the planning process with a town hall on Oct. 7. The Cottonwood Heights City Council hosted the town hall meeting to present a range of possible solutions derived from meetings held earlier in the year. They also listened to public input and heard some ideas that were not on their list of solutions. “It’s a real collaboration,” Mayor Mike Peterson said. “I’ve been really impressed with how it’s been progressing.” City Manager Tim Tingey shared a number of options that planners have considered, from policy changes to infrastructure projects. One of the items in the city’s presentation focused on making sure vehicles entering the canyons on snow days are properly equipped for the winter roads. This would include greater enforcement of snow tire and chain regulations. Tingey also discussed the idea of working with rental car companies to make sure the vehicles they rent to skiers are properly equipped. A major theme of the meeting, from both city officials and residents, was improving busing up and down the canyons. “It’s related to consistency of bus service, frequency of bus service and efficiency of bus service,” Tingey said. Ideas included consolidation of resort bus stops, police escorts for buses, bypass lanes and bus redesign. Tingey also discussed UTA making sure its seasonal schedule changes coincide with ski resort calendars. Another idea included establishing staging areas for trading out buses that break down as a way to reduce traffic impediments in the canyons. “Instead of having a bus go clear back to the UTA garage, there’s a quicker transition for buses that break
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Residents discussed ideas for addressing canyons traffic congestion during recent town hall. (Joshua Wood/City Journals)
down and get that replaced,” Tingey said. Residents in attendance offered input ranging from frustrations with canyon traffic to other possible solutions for the city and planning commission to consider. Jim Rock of Cottonwood Heights talked about the limitations of bus capacity on snow days. “I tell my renters if it’s a weekend or snow day and it’s busy, forget taking the bus,”
Rock said. “When you have a lot of snow, you have more people going up the canyon.” This was a sentiment shared by many in attendance — that bus service on peak ski days is inadequate. An alternate sentiment among residents at the town hall was that planners should keep things in perspective. “I hope that we don’t just simply try to find solutions that are based on a really exceptional snow year Continued page 9
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