“Riding a Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola will be an unforgettable experience that catapults Utah to the forefront of innovative transportation for a growing Utah population.”– Dave Fields, President and General Manager of Snowbird Mountain Resort.
A couple of weeks ago, the Utah Department of Transportation announced that the gondola is officially the preferred alternative to solve Little Cottonwood Canyon’s traffic mess. The response from locals and environmentalists has been significant frustration, with many criticizing UDOT for listening to tourists wants rather than people that actually live in Utah.
Last week, Dave Fields, who is the President and General Manager of Snowbird Mountain Resort, wrote an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune to explain why the gondola is the best solution for Little Cottonwood Canyon.
His major reason is that the present-day situation of having only one way in and out of the canyon creates a serious safety issue. When a multitude of cars are placed on a road that features significant hazards. This situation was emphasized this past April when no one could get up or down the canyon for a large portion of an eleven-day stretch due to the risks of wet slides. The gondola would create a second option to get up the Canyon, which will help in situations where the road is closed due to avalanche closures, along with traffic congestion.
Dave added that the gondola is the “safest, cleanest, and most efficient way for Utahns and visitors alike to enjoy this precious resource that sits in our backyard providing world-class, year-round recreation and the water many of us drink.”
A key criticism of the gondola project is that the $729 million price tag will likely fall on the taxpayers. Dave Fields noted in his op-ed that Snowbird is working with UDOT “to help pay for and maintain a new system.”
He also criticized the logic from critics that these issues recently arose from Salt Lake City’s growing population and the introduction of the Ikon Pass. He pointed out that he overheard many conversations over four decades ago in Alta’s ski school locker room, where instructors debated how to fix the traffic issues in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
You can read the letter in full here.
Image Credits: Gondola Works, Ian Wood
