Salt Lake County leaders reiterate opposition to Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola
(KUTV) — A group of bipartisan elected leaders voiced their opposition Wednesday to the idea of a gondola being built in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
“The people of Sandy do not want a gondola up this canyon,” said Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski.
Zoltanski was just one of many people invited to a gathering organized by the groups Friends of Alta and Save our Canyons. Nearly a hundred people also came to hear those groups make the case against a proposed gondola.
“Not only do I think it can be stopped, I think it will be stopped,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson.
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is in the middle of deciding what should be done about S.R. 10, the road that goes up Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The agency is looking to provide an integrated transportation system that improves reliability, mobility, and safety for residents, visitors, and commuters who use the road.
Last year, UDOT decided on two alternatives. One would widen the roadway and enhance bus service. The other would bring a gondola to the canyon, transporting people from the mouth of the canyon to Snowbird and Alta ski resorts.
Opponents of the gondola say it would mar the inherent beauty of the canyon, remove no more than 30 percent of vehicular traffic, and cost too much money. They also don’t like the idea of widening the roadway. Wilson says enhanced bus service on the existing roadway, combined with other ideas, could go a long way in solving problems.
“I’m willing to say in four or five years, if they don’t make the difference we’re looking for, that we can look at some other alternatives,” Wilson said. “But a half a billion dollar taxpayer funded two-stop gondola is a very bad idea.”
The Wednesday event was mostly filled with opponents of the gondola. But Dave Fields, president and general manager of Snowbird, was also there. He’s a gondola supporter.
“As UDOT has narrowed the options down to road widening or a gondola we’ve come out in favor of gondola,” said Fields. “We feel like adding more pavement to the canyon with more vehicles will only increase the avalanche hazard index in Little Cottonwood Canyon and we need to bring that down.”
Fields also cites the challenges of moving people through the canyon over the next several decades, when the Wasatch Front’s population is expected to soar.
“When we have another million people living on the Wasatch Front, the pressures on these canyons are going to be incredible,” Fields said. “We need to be able to get people up and down the canyon without having an adverse effect on water, on air, and making it safe. That’s why we support the gondola.”
UDOT is expected to release it’s final preferred alternative sometime this summer. More public comment is expected to follow.
