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The two-lane highway through Ogden Canyon is unusually narrow and winding for a main corridor to such recreation spots as Pineview Reservoir and the Snowbasin, Powder Mountain and Nordic Valley ski resorts.

So the Utah Department of Transportation is launching a $200,000 study to find options to rework the roadway to handle increasing traffic and demands from bicyclists and pedestrians who now often cannot safely use the highway.

"We are trying to figure out what to do in the canyon, who owns it and what are the options for the next 100 years" for roads and trails, said Utah Transportation Commission Chairman Jeffrey Holt, who lives in Huntsville atop Ogden Canyon.

"It's a really narrow canyon," he told the commission. "There's so little room to do anything there. And over the years, hundreds of homes [have been] jammed in there."

He noted that a trolley once ran the length of the canyon to Huntsville, and UDOT still owns much of the old right of way — so perhaps it could be used to improve transportation.

Kris Peterson, director of UDOT's Region One, said the canyon "has significant demand for marathons, for bike races and all kinds of uses" beyond cars.

Holt said hundreds of applications now are made annually for using the road for special events. "What was a great thing is now a flood. So we get to pick and choose and figure out what is a proper mix."

But the canyon is so narrow and traffic has grown so much, Peterson said, that "bikes are not advised. It's just not a safe place to have this mix with the high volume of cars. It's really tight."

Peterson said the study will include "significant outreach with the community in the canyon, as well as the community in Ogden Valley and Ogden City, to try to find out what the future look of that canyon should be."

Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell praised the new study, noting the canyon has become a major corridor for people from all over the Wasatch Front seeking to reach recreation areas. He told the commission such long-term studies are a key to maintaining a good lifestyle amid constant growth.