Park City officials on Wednesday evening gathered a wide range of opinions about the future of the Bonanza Park district and the lower Park Avenue corridor, but the diverse ideas expressed at an open house illustrate the difficulties that City Hall will likely encounter as it molds plans for those areas.
It was not clear if anyone suffered sticker shock as they affixed numerous stickers to boards in answering a series of questions about growth, housing, parking and related topics.
The open house, held at the Park City Library and Education Center, was designed to center on the related topics of transportation and parking. Although many of the people who attended seemed interested in those issues, others addressed broader ideals.
City Hall continues to spend considerable time addressing Bonanza Park and the lower Park Avenue corridor. Both are seen as having the potential for major redevelopment. Officials say it is best that they are considered jointly in some fashion given their proximity to one another.
It seems likely the municipal government will be heavily involved in the redevelopment of Bonanza Park, probably through infrastructure improvements, as the private sector pursues an ambitious redevelopment. City Hall, meanwhile, is leading the efforts along lower Park Avenue since it has significant holdings on the corridor.
Transportation and parking will be critical topics as the discussions continue. Some of the roads, including Park Avenue and Bonanza Drive, are heavily traveled with regular backups.
The open house drew approximately 50 people from the public in addition to a roster of elected officials from Park City, City Hall staffers, members of the Park City Planning Commission and consultants. The people milled about looking at maps and charts, talking to the City Hall contingent and consultants.
The attendees moved between boards with printed questions about a variety of topics. The people affixed stickers in answering the questions. On one board, people were asked their opinion about the idea of reducing the number of vehicles with just the driver inside. All but one sticker at one point were placed atop or close to the ‘strongly agree’ answer. The other sticker was placed underneath the ‘neutral’ answer.
Another question explored opinions about encouraging growth in areas where there is already development instead positioning growth in surrounding Summit County. The majority of the stickers were affixed close to the ‘strongly agree’ answer while the others were in the ‘neutral’ space.
Stickers were generally mixed between ‘strongly agree’ and ‘neutral’ under a question about diversifying the economy with small manufacturing and light industrial businesses. All but one person put a sticker atop the ‘strongly agree’ answer when asked about prioritizing the stewardship of the environment and sustainability on a long-term basis. The other sticker was in the ‘neutral’ category.
In another question, centered on providing affordable housing and housing for the work force, the vast majority of the stickers — upward of 20 at one point — were put in the ‘strongly agree’ category. Two people by then had put stickers atop ‘strongly disagree.’
The people were mixed when asked about providing hotels, with eight at one point saying they strongly disagreed, five indicating they were neutral and three signaling they strongly agreed. Another four stickers were placed midway between ‘neutral’ and ‘strongly agree.’
A question about providing housing sold at market rates drew a mixed response at one point between people who strongly agreed and those who were neutral. Two indicated they strong disagreed.
The attendees also provided handwritten, anonymous opinions. The opinions dealt with numerous topics.
Someone argued for buses that run on electricity while someone else mentioned unspecified aerial transit between Park City Mountain Resort, City Park and the Old Town transit center. One of the comments urged officials to “allow leashed dogs on buses so we don’t have to use cars if we want to bring our dogs to Silly Market etc.” Another person who left a comment wanted the bus system redesigned and simplified so there is 15-minute service on primary routes like along Park Avenue. Someone also wrote about reducing morning traffic on S.R. 248 by starting a bus line from Quinn’s Junction.
The event was held as City Hall contends with a post-recession boom era that has drawn widespread complaints about traffic, construction impacts and the general theme of growth even as the Park City economy has enjoyed superlative numbers.