The possibility of Park City someday building a tunnel along the S.R. 248 entryway appears no more likely, or unlikely, than it did a week ago.
Same for the prospects of some sort of aerial transportation system on that entryway.
Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council in early February held a discussion about a wide range of transportation issues as the traffic struggles in the community continue. But the elected officials only touched on a list of what City Hall has dubbed disruptive ideas that could be considered to address the closely related traffic and transportation issues.
The list dates to a March 2022 meeting of the City Council. It was noted again in a City Hall report that was drafted in anticipation of the recent meeting. The report indicated the municipal government received $80,000 in grant money from the Utah Department of Transportation to study emerging technologies. Some of the ideas that may be studied include a tunnel under S.R. 248 or parallel to the state highway; the viability of aerial transit, likely a gondola, following the S.R. 248 corridor; and tolling coupled with congestion pricing on the entryways.
The elected officials did not delve into detailed discussions about the individual items that were included on the list of disruptive ideas. There was a brief mention regarding the possibility of forming a stakeholder group to address the list, but it was not clear whether that step would be taken.
City Councilor Jeremy Rubell suggested the list should be narrowed down. Tana Toly, another member of the City Council, appeared to broach one of the items on the list — an idea to turn several key streets into one-way routes — indicating a discussion about that concept should extend beyond the individual streets. City Councilor Max Doilney wanted pedestrian routes included as a priority as the discussions continue.
The City Council, meanwhile, generally supported continued City Hall research into the concept of building a pedestrian-bicyclist tunnel in the area of the intersection of Kearns Boulevard and Snow Creek Drive. It appears City Hall in the spring will begin to refine the tunnel concept, with the possibility of presenting ideas to the City Council in the summer. A timeline for the project is not clear should the elected officials give the go-ahead. There has been discussion about a tunnel at the location for years.
The location is important to the community’s pedestrian-bicyclist network of trails and pathways since a tunnel there would provide a link between the Snow Creek and Holiday Village commercial areas, as well as another connection between the northern and southern parts of Park City.
Park City has successfully built pedestrian-bicyclist tunnels as part of an overall strategy designed to ensure safe routes across the community for people opting not to drive. Leaders see the strategy as something that reduces traffic and is environmentally friendly. Pedestrian-bicyclist tunnels underneath Bonanza Drive and Kearns Boulevard close to the Park City School District campus are widely used.
The recent discussion was held amid continued community displeasure with traffic along the entryways and elsewhere in Park City. Traffic has been a chief complaint of Parkites for decades and continues to be so with the thriving Park City tourism industry.