An open house about a U.S. Forest Service study of summer transportation in the Albion Basin will be held Oct. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Our Lady of the Snows Center in Alta.

Officials of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest will review baseline data collected during the summer on traffic and trail counts, parking turnover and vehicle mode and occupancy along the 2½-mile gravel road that runs from Alta up into Little Cottonwood Canyon's Albion Basin. High traffic volumes in recent years, especially when the basin's wildflowers are in bloom, have raised concerns about the impacts on the canyon's natural resources, safety and the recreational experience.

Officials collected data as part of a Forest Service study, funded with a Federal Transit Administration grant, evaluating alternative transportation possibilities for the heavily used road. The Oct. 28 meeting will include the study team's evaluation of a voluntary van shuttle system funded on weekends by the Town of Alta and public comments received so far.

The public also will have a chance to comment on preliminary alternatives both before and after a 45-minute Forest Service presentation set to begin at 4:30 p.m.

A National Park Service team that developed the shuttle system for Zion National Park is taking a lead role in this study, along with private consultants from David Evans and Associates. Other partners in the study are the Alta Environmental Center, Friends of Alta and the Town of Alta. The Salt Lake City department of public utilities also is providing technical support on watershed issues.

The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest plans to conduct a similar study in Millcreek Canyon with another of the FTA's "Transit in Parks Program" grants.

-- Mike Gorrell