My heartfelt response to UDOT’s proposals for Little Cottonwood Canyon:
“Young men speak about the future because they have no past, and old men speak of the past because they have no future.” Today I sit comfortably between young and old reflecting on my childhood spent frolicking, skipping, swooshing and tumbling through the wilds of Little Cottonwood Canyon. As a young adult, these mountains were a refuge from my daily to-do’s, an escape from the concrete roads, artificial noise and shiny surfaces that assault our senses. Nature’s soundtrack washed my soul and renewed my energy. When I married, I moved to the Little Cottonwood mountains to grow my family in a place that has always felt like home. Today, I teach my four children to cherish the majesty that surrounds them; to breathe in the pine-scented air on a rainy day and to close their eyes to hear the canyon critters that secretly surround them. My teenagers call me when they see “our mountains” wrapped in a thin blanket of clouds because they know it’s my favorite.
This is where my past ends and my future is unknown.
I am writing you today to plead with those of you who love “our mountains” to consider their purpose. They are here to provide fresh, clean water to our valley. To shelter billions of plants, animals and insects. To graciously give refuge to people who need open, unobstructed wilderness for their physical, mental and spiritual health. To be the scenic backdrop for our priceless memories. Little Cottonwood Canyon is woven into family traditions that span generations and I fear that precious thread may be carelessly cut.
Because I have lived in the heart of this canyon for 20 years, I am well aware of your purpose to keep people moving and safe on its quaint, winding road. I see the frustration, through steamy car windows, of skiers ironically separated from their precious snow because of an avalanche. I also see that nearly every SUV has one single person inside, shaking their head in disgust at all the cars on the road ahead. This is not a problem that our canyon should be forced to solve. We created this inconvenience and it is our responsibility to solve it. Don’t force Little Cottonwood Canyon to serve as a modern day “Giving Tree” because people feel too entitled for the inconvenience of carpooling or taking the bus.
I am opposed to any “solution” that assaults Little Cottonwood Canyon with steel or concrete and plead with you to carefully consider alternatives that benefit the canyon, and its guests. Future generations are depending on your wisdom.
Trina Sheranian, Sandy