Mayor Dana Williams on Thursday night declared “the Shoe Tree stays,” telling a crowd at a Park City Council meeting that Parkites should shift their attention to other topics.
The mayor’s comments about the Shoe Tree were unexpected and were apparently spurred by the several weeks of chatter around Park City about the future of the Shoe Tree.
A lower Deer Valley woman in late August appeared at a City Council meeting saying that the Shoe Tree is an eyesore. The elected officials were not sympathetic, with the mayor indicating then the Shoe Tree fits with Park City’s vibe.
The woman was sharply criticized by people commenting on the Internet, many of them anonymously. The online comments were nearly unanimously in support of the Shoe Tree.
City Hall crews since early August have removed enough shoes from the Shoe Tree to fill 26 trash bags, some prior to the woman’s appearance and others afterward. The city occasionally thins the shoes. The mayor said Thursday night City Hall will continue thinning the shoes occasionally, but shoes will remain hanging from the branches nonetheless.
Williams said the chatter about the Shoe Tree went “a lot out of control.” He criticized the tenor of the online comments.
The Shoe Tree, located off a pathway close to the Marriott Summit Watch, dates to the late 1960s or the early 1970s. There are several legends about its origins.
The Shoe Tree nowadays consists of a few trees close to each other with shoes hanging from the branches. The trees are along Poison Creek and are visible from Deer Valley Drive.