Recently, Arches National Park has required reservations in order to avoid the long wait lines. Zion has implemented reservations if you want to hike the Angels Landing trail and Yellowstone has started reservations to enter that park.
Why? To make the visitor’s experience more enjoyable, safer by lessening the stress on the environment. None of these parks even thought about putting in a gondola to bring in as many people as possible.
I understand that ski resorts look at the profit they’ll earn by selling ski passes to the multitudes, but at what point is the number of people on the slopes deemed unsafe or too crowded?
Parking lot size was once the limiting factor on how many people could fit on the slopes, but with a gondola bringing in thousands more skiers daily, the mountain experience will surely suffer. The freedom of skiing down an empty hill vs. a hill crowded with people is like night and day. If the roads are too crowded now in the canyon, implement a timed entry system and see if that helps.
Lastly, who benefits if the $510 million gondola gets built? We all know the answer to that. I would bet that more than 95% of the county will not benefit in the least and the $11 million yearly fee to run the gondola will be like pouring salt on an open wound. Why do we taxpayers even consider paying for this behemoth when the two resorts at the top of the mountain should foot the entire bill? I’m tired of paying for corporate welfare. Stand with me and ask for a vote to see how many people think we really need to do this.
Anna Florin, South Jordan