UDOT is seeking public opinion on two choices to alleviate traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Photo: KSL TV screengrab
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has two preferred options to relieve Little Cottonwood Canyon traffic on SR-210, and as KSL TV’s Jed Boal reported, they would like public input.
UDOT has been studying the issue of Little Cottonwood Canyon traffic for three years and offered several ideas in the fall of 2020. After receiving 6,500 comments on those suggestions, UDOT has narrowed the choices to either a bus with a dedicated lane or a gondola.
“Air quality, water quality, noise, environmental justice, and roughly 20 other criteria,” were all considered, UDOT project manager Josh Van Jura told KSL TV.
Both of the options score well within the parameters presented by the criteria. The bus, for example, would be frequent and in some instances faster up the mountain than a car would be.
A gondola with a base at the mouth of the canyon would never be impacted by snow delays and scored high on reliability. But the gondola is slower, taking 20 minutes to get to the resort, Boal reported.
A 45-day public comment period has already begun. You can read more and give your comment at UDOT’s Little Cottonwood Environmental Impact webpage.