The ski season has begun and as the canyons fill up, the Utah Department of Transportation has announced it will close Little Cottonwood Canyon to uphill traffic this winter once parking lots reach their capacity. Especially during this pandemic, I expect those closures to happen early and often, and we must acknowledge that major changes are necessary in order to meet the heightened demand for outdoor recreation. That’s why UDOT’s proposal to build a gondola that includes parking at the base station is the ideal long-term solution.
A combination of parking and moving thousands of people per hour in a gondola would help solve an issue that has plagued the canyons in Utah for decades. This option provides access and reliability regardless of what’s happening on the canyon road or in resort parking lots. Our dedication to finding an efficient alternative to driving individual cars to our favorite ski resort or hiking spot will dictate the constraints and limits that are placed on our canyons during busy seasons. A gondola will provide us with the parking and transportation infrastructure needed to avoid disruptions when it comes to enjoying our beautiful canyons.
Rebecca Bringard, Salt Lake City