I applauded the Park City’s proposal to use Richardson Flat for parking this ski season. It is an excellent step in the right direction. I know the city is receiving criticism for this approach. But it must start somewhere, and this is a viable beginning.
One of the primary goals of the Richardson Flat parking proposal is to divert skier traffic to this parking area rather than have them come into town. This proposal would allow the ski resorts to require many employees to park at Richardson Flat rather than coming into town.
Unfortunately, the Park City Transit System has set up a bus schedule that guarantees the city’s excellent beginning will fail. I had a conversation with a transit department employee. They said that there would be no direct buses going from the parking lot to Deer Valley or Park City Mountain. Instead, skiers and ski area employees (as well as other employees working adjacent to the ski resorts), would have to make a transfer to a second bus. They suggested the high school stop as a transfer point to the resorts.
This means a trip that would take 15 to 20 minutes from the freeways to the resorts will take 45 minutes to an hour. Buses come every 20 minutes. Factoring in a transfer to another bus makes the total time from your car to the resort so long no one will be willing to park at Richardson Flat again. The transit employee agreed with my estimate of the time required to get from Richardson Flat to Park City Mountain, using a transfer.
I think a good approach is to have buses going to Deer Valley and Park City Mountain make one stop along the way so others who are not going to the resorts can make a transfer. This allows riders who want to go to other parts of Park City to use the ski buses. The high school stop might be a good transfer point for those not going to the resorts. It would not appreciably increase the bus time from Richardson Flat to the resorts.
I am coming from Provo when I ski Park City resorts. I was looking forward to using Richardson Flat for parking. But the requirement that I must transfer to another bus means I will go into town and try to find a parking place in neighborhoods or on commercial parking lots. I will be contributing to the problem rather than helping solve it.
It is unreasonable to ask me to take an hour by bus rather than 15 to 20 minutes by car to get to the resorts. I am confident that everyone else who wants to use Richardson Flat for parking while they ski will come to the same conclusion.
I ask that the city steps in and fixes this situation before it becomes a reality. I really would like to see the city succeed with the Richardson Flat parking as a way to improve the parking mess at the ski resorts. But the current transit department approach will ensure the city will fail.
When it fails, the public will blame the mayor, the city manager and the Council. The anonymous transit system bureaucrats who created this failure will not be held accountable. Instead, the reputation of top political/administrative management will suffer an undeserved blow.