I humbly suggest that UDOT consider the skier capacity of both Alta and Snowbird in their consideration of the traffic and parking problems in Little Cottonwood canyon. How many skiers can each ski area safely accommodate on any given “peak“ day?
Rather than just flooding the canyon with skiers via a gondola at the rate of 4,000 an hour, each ski area should have a predetermined maximum capacity per day at which point they would be sold out.
Then UDOT can work off those numbers to consider how many skiers they would need to transport in their overall plan for the traffic and parking problem in the canyon. Maximum skier capacity must be the first part of their equation.
It is a skier capacity and safety issue on the mountain as much as it is a traffic and parking problem.
Clark Parkinson, Salt Lake City