This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake County Council offered a temporary solution to a dispute about parking problems in the neighborhood around the Grandeur Peak trailhead.
But because the area right at the mouth of Parleys Canyon will become part of the new city Millcreek on Jan. 1, the County Council is leaving a long-term solution in the hands of the new city officials.
Figuring those leaders will be deluged with details of forming a city of 65,000, County Council members extended a pilot program through April that reduces the problem by restricting parking in the neighborhoods closest to the trailhead to residents with permits from the county.
The council also accepted a staff recommendation to address immediate overcrowding problems by restriping the west side of Wasatch Boulevard to provide 15 parallel-parking spots next to an Interstate 215 sound wall and adding three more spots just outside the trailhead gate.
Discussions also will be launched with Granite School District to allow overflow parking at nearby Eastwood Elementary School.
In addition, the gate will open at 5 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. to improve access for early-morning hikers. Several neighbors have told the council that that the trail users they worry about are the ones who show up after the 10 p.m. gate closure to party, deal drugs or "shoot the chute," the culvert that carries Parleys Creek under I-215 into the gully below Tanner Park.
The man apparently destined to be Millcreek's first mayor, Jeff Silvestrini, called the county's solution a "fair compromise." He said it balances the need to protect "this neighborhood overloaded with traffic and behaviors residents don't find acceptable" with the right of people countywide to have access to public lands and trails.
A longtime Mount Olympus Community Council leader, Silvestrini is likely to appear alone on the November ballot because his opponent, Fred Healey, withdrew from the race earlier this week to focus on his fight against cancer.
The county's parking decision was reached after an hourlong public hearing, the second on the contentious issue.
A dozen speakers offered mixed opinions on the matter. Most liked the parking-permit system. A few didn't. And a few more who live outside of the permit area asked to be included in it.
Residents also were criticized for making it difficult to access the trailhead. Hiking enthusiast Polly Hart argued the county has "no reasons to restrict parking on public roads" and advised neighbors that "when you move to Mecca, you should expect the visitors to come."