Gondola or frequent buses are final options under study to improve Little Cottonwood Canyon traffic - Salt Lake Tribune

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Future visitors to Little Cottonwood Canyon may not just enjoy ski lifts at Alta and Snowbird resorts — it’s possible they could travel up the canyon by public gondola to reduce traffic congestion.

Building a gondola is one of three final solutions to canyon congestion — pared down from 105 original proposals — that officials said Thursday will receive more in-depth study during the next phase of an environmental impact statement, scheduled for completion late next year.

The other two options include enhanced Utah Transit Authority bus service, arriving as frequently as every five minutes. One bus option would include widening the canyon road to allow bus-only lanes on shoulders during ski season and use by bicyclists and hikers in summer.

Notably not making the cut for the final three options is building a transit train up the canyon, which had been promoted by such people as gubernatorial candidate Greg Hughes, the former Utah House speaker and former chairman of UTA.

Each of the main alternatives may include some other elements previously proposed, including charging tolls to reduce vehicle traffic; snowsheds over the highway to keep it clear of snow from avalanches; banning roadside parking near resorts; widening and other improvements on Wasatch Boulevard in the Salt Lake Valley; and new hubs for parking and buses in the valley.

The Utah Department of Transportation is accepting comments on the proposals from June 8 through July 10. It also has scheduled several public meetings online, and one that is in person for people without internet. A schedule of the meetings also is on the project website.

“Public participation is a vital component of the study and helps support the decision-making process,” said Josh Van Jura, UDOT project manager. “We’re asking canyon users, residents, and the public as a whole to get involved and let us know their feedback.”

Here is a look at the three proposals for more study:

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• Gondola. It would run an estimated $393 million in capital costs, or in the middle of the final three options. The gondola itself would stretch from a base station at the mouth of the canyon with stations at Snowbird and Alta.

Thirty gondolas would allow service every two minutes and transport up to 1,050 people per hour — the most of any option — and allow about another 2,249 people traveling in cars per hour up the canyon.

No parking would be permitted at the gondola base station.

As for all three options, buses would be provided from a mobility hub in the valley on Wasatch Boulevard near Fort Union Boulevard. That hub would have parking for 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles. Wasatch Boulevard would be widened and would give signal priority to buses.

Trips up the canyon via bus and gondola in this option are estimated to take about 46 minutes. Annual winter operation costs are estimated at $4.6 million, the cheapest of the three alternatives.

Also as with all options, this one would include tolling or requiring car pooling to reduce vehicle traffic. All options also would ban roadway parking near resorts and will address parking at trailheads throughout the canyon.

Unlike the bus options, this gondola would not include building snowsheds on the canyon road to protect against avalanches.

• Enhanced bus. This is the cheapest option, running an estimated $283 million in capital costs. The travel time up the canyon would be the same as the gondola option, about 46 minutes.

It would have 24 buses per hour from mobility hubs on Wasatch Boulevard near Fort Union Boulevard and at 9400 S. Highland Drive. UDOT said frequency of up to every five minutes may occur at peak times.

The option could carry 1,008 people via bus per hour and allow another 2,249 by personal car up the canyon. Its estimated annual winter operation costs of $9 million is the most expensive of any option.

The bus options would include construction of snowsheds over key sections of the canyon road to protect from avalanches, and tolling or requirements for car pooling to reduce vehicle traffic.

• Enhanced bus in a dedicated shoulder lane. This option would add bus-only lanes from North Little Cottonwood Canyon Road to Alta Bypass Road. Buses would use it during peak periods in ski season; bicyclists and pedestrians would use it during the summer.

It is the most expensive option, with capital costs of $470 million. But it would have the quickest transit trip up the canyon, about 37 minutes — or nine minutes faster than the other options.

It would offer the same number of buses and frequency as the other enhanced bus option.

Its annual winter operation costs are estimated at $6.2 million a year, in the middle of the three options.

The Little Cottonwood Canyon environmental impact statement was initiated in 2018 by UDOT in partnership with UTA and the U.S. Forest Service. It began with 105 preliminary concepts proposed during scoping meetings and in earlier studies.

They were evaluated on ability to improve canyon transportation, feasibility and environmental impacts, and were pared down to the final three draft alternatives.

After public review of the alternatives, more study will lead eventually to selection of a preferred alternative in a draft EIS, followed by a final EIS and record of decision — which is expected in late 2021.

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