Utah — After a couple years of stalling, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is finally going to start fixing the problems that ail the Cottonwood Canyons.
Yesterday, the Utah Department of Transportation announced the implementation of phase one projects included in the Little Cottonwood EIS. These projects include expanded bus service, a new mobility hub at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon, the introduction of tolling, the construction of new bus stops, and addressing roadside parking issues around Snowbird and Alta. These projects are planned for implementation over the next two years.
For buses, the new plan is for a new bus on the road to Little Cottonwood every 10-20 minutes. Currently, buses run every 30 minutes. The price of tolls will depend on the level of demand that day, but was previously suggested to be $20-30. The mobility hub would feature a large number of parking spaces (currently estimated at around 1,750 spaces). In my opinion, this has been a core flaw of the current UTA ski bus service, so this is a welcome change. The mobility hub still needs to secure financing from the state legislature.
“We need improvements in the canyon now to address the traffic challenges we are experiencing today,” said Devin Weder, UDOT project manager. “By moving forward with these buses and infrastructure improvements, we are laying the foundation for a better, more reliable transportation system in the canyon.”
These projects were initially delayed due to lawsuits against the Little Cottonwood Gondola. UDOT feared this would hinder the deployment of phase-one projects. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, with these traffic issues continuing, they decided it was time to take a risk and move forward.
“We just decided it was time,” said Weder at a press conference yesterday. “We decided that even though we are in litigation, we would take a calculated risk that this is a big benefit to the valley, this is a benefit to the public and we need to start now.”
There’s no mention of the gondola, but this project is the final phase of the Little Cottonwood Environmental Impact Statement. As mentioned above, this part of the proposal faces lawsuits.
Big Cottonwood Canyon
This news follows the release of the Environmental Assessment for Big Cottonwood Canyon. This proposal includes more buses, improved bus stops, the introduction of tolling, and a new mobility hub at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Image/Video Credits: Utah Department of Transportation, Paramount Pictures, Utah Transit Authority (UTA)
