Utah Senate President Wayne Niederhauser’s proposed SB71 is a bad solution because it avoids dealing with the root cause of the problem, which is that the ski resorts have failed for decades to invest in constructing additional parking facilities to deal with their increased popularity. Parking garages can and should be built to prevent the problem of cars parking on the road.
SB71 is a disappointing example of the bureaucratic approach to problem solving, which ultimately wastes taxpayer money and doesn’t solve the bigger problem: that residents near Little Cottonwood Canyon are faced with huge traffic jams because of the antiquated and costly method of closing the canyon for avalanche control on days when it is snowing.
This problem is easily solved by the construction of avalanche tunnels that blend into the natural landscape. Solving the traffic congestion problem for local canyon residents will also result in happier resort customers, who currently must wait for 3 hours or more on snow days to try to even reach the ski resorts.
Scott Morgan, Salt Lake City