Alta Ski Area Criticizes Little Cottonwood Gondola & Other Solutions Proposed By UDOT

Alta, Utah- The latest roadblock to installing a gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon has arrived, and it’s from a surprising source.

In a public letter to the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) on April 16th, Alta Ski Area, the Town of Alta, and its surrounding businesses criticized the Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Statement. Their core criticism was that the EIS didn’t address the traffic issues that the Town faces during ski season.

Their core concerns regard the traffic pileup that typically happens at Alta on their peak days. The Mainline of SR-210, which refers to the part of SR-210 from Entry 4 at Snowbird to the Alta Chalets, is typically closed during snowy periods due to avalanche risk. Drivers have to go through the Bypass Road, which features a multitude of drivers entering the commute and can become a complete clusterfuck if the pavement becomes slick.

With Snowbird being further down in the canyon, their drivers get a head start, leading Alta drivers to be stuck in the Canyon for hours. Roadside parking also leads to congestion, as many drivers need to pull off a U-Turn to join the stop-and-go traffic jam. In addition, many Alta skiers are frustrated over the lack of enforcement of the tire traction laws, resulting in drivers struggling to make it up and down the Canyon without the proper tires.

In response to these concerns, Alta offered the following solutions: ban roadside parking on SR-210 around Snowbird, keep the Mainline open by adding Snowsheds and/or begin using remote avalanche technology on Mt. Superior, add traffic lights throughout the canyon for a more balanced spreading out of traffic, and stingier enforcement of the Traction Law, where those who don’t have the proper tires could face fines.

Yesterday, Julie Jag of the Salt Lake Tribune posted an article in which Mike Maughan, the General Manager of Alta, voiced his concerns about the Environmental Impact Statement. The article is worth reading because Maughan explains why they wrote a letter to UDOT. A major reason why Mike wrote the letter was that they believed that the EIS failed to solve how to fix the present-day issues the Canyon faces and instead focused on the future.

Probably the most important quote from Mike Maughan in the article is this:

“Whether it’s a gondola or it’s toll lanes or it’s buses none of those solutions as proposed are designed to replace the current vehicle volume level in the canyon.”

While I don’t view this statement as a rejection of the gondola proposal, it’s a pretty damming criticism of a project that UDOT and Snowbird believe is the key to fixing the traffic problem.

These moves by Alta and its community aren’t surprising if you’ve been monitoring this situation closely. In February, Mike Maughan voiced his frustration with how Snowbird doesn’t require parking reservations, saying they needed to have a “heart-to-heart” with the Utah ski resort. In March, the Town of Alta passed a resolution formally opposing the gondola and suggesting UDOT hire a third party to conduct a comprehensive environmental review.

The Environmental Impact Statement released by UDOT in 2022 called for a three-phased approach to improving the traffic situation. Phase one would include a new mobility hub, an increase in public buses, and the introduction of tolling. Phase two would add snow sheds and widen Wasatch Boulevard. Phase three, which is still a couple of decades out, would include the addition of a gondola. A notable flaw to these plans is that they would cease bus operations once the gondola is operational, likely creating more traffic.