UDOT is knocking around some ideas about how to cut down winter traffic jams in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It will be laying out its plan Nov. 13-14 and asking for public input through Dec. 13, 2024.
Any skier or snowboarder who has ever called DoorDash while stuck on the shoulder of Wasatch Boulevard waiting for State Route 190 to open after a big snowstorm or who has painstakingly followed the red snake down the highway at 5 p.m. on a weekend knew that. They wouldn’t even need to glance over at Little Cottonwood Canyon for clues.
“There’s no talk of a gondola, or a train,” said UDOT project manager Devin Weder, “or road widening.”UDOT estimates between 1,000 and 1,200 cars go up and down the canyon each hour on peak winter days. That’s the most the two-lane highway can handle, Weder said. At the same time, he said officials from the two resorts at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Solitude Mountain Resort and, both told him they believed they could accommodate more skiers per acre. The choke point is the road’s capacity.
Among the options being studied is implementing a tolling gate just below Solitude. That would allow people to drive to popular backcountry skiing and hiking areas like Cardiff Fork and Donut Falls without paying the toll. The majority of people on the road in the winter are going to the resort, though, Weder said, and tolling would help funnel them into buses.
“We have a solution that is much more economical and much more efficient, which is the bus,” he said. “Even if you had four people in your car, we’d rather you get out of your car and get on the bus than drive up the canyon. That’s the point of the toll.”
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