As many have aptly noted, the proposed two alternatives by UDOT in Little Cottonwood Canyon largely benefit two private companies at the expense of the recreating public who need and want year-round (as opposed to seasonal) transportation solutions for other parts of the canyon other than Snowbird and Alta.
What hasn’t been studied or discussed in UDOT’s Final Environmental Impact is how the impacts of global climate change will impact the entire purpose and need for either an extra bus lane or a gondola in this canyon.
While it’s true that population increases have compounded current traffic woes in the canyons, there was no effort to analyze how reduced snowpack and increased winter rain will affect future demand for skiing at these resorts. By 2050, around the time these proposed projects would be finished, there will be 90 fewer days below freezing each year according to the 2016 Journal of Climate Study. A 2017 study by the EPA found that by 2050 there will be a 50% shorter ski season. Scientists are already seeing that high elevation areas are warming faster than sea level. At least one hydrologist, Brian McInerney, anticipates that in the Wasatch there will be no snowfall by 2100. Given these climate realities, one may wonder why there is a huge push to construct permanent infrastructure that when completed will only serve as a transportation option to two resorts for two possibly three months out of the year. It will become the proverbial road to nowhere and is ill-conceived on several levels but all the more so due to the anticipated impacts of global climate change.
Joel Ban, Salt Lake City