One of the items on the Thursday, April 25, Park City Council agenda was whether to proceed with the last remaining project from the voter-approved Walkability Bond. It is a tunnel under Kearns Boulevard connecting the Snow Creek path to the Yarrow/Doubletree. The list of projects was the result of a study to create improved walkability and connectivity.
The item was up for public comment. Three of us attended to offer our support to proceed. The three council members in attendance each voiced their opinions and reasoning behind not moving forward.
The first comment was that many changes have occurred in Park City over the past 16 years. The project has reached a total cost of $18.6 million. What was not considered is the city’s out of pocket was about $6.8 million. The balance of $11.8 million is to be paid by UDOT, the Sewer District, the county Transportation Fund and the balance of the WALC bond. It’s likely that funding will go away if not used. That’s akin to someone offering to sell you their $18 million house for $7 million and saying no thanks.
Next was a discussion of a short-term solution to add a crosswalk with a pedestrian island near the intersection of Snow Creek Drive and Kearns. The city’s own transit engineer said he could not support that, citing safety reasons. Among those would be people waiting in the middle of the road, competing with traffic making left turns into Snow Creek to get to the Park City Market shopping center. It was observed that if cars had to wait a little bit, that would be OK.
We could also wait until the Doubletree/Yarrow application is approved, but who knows how long that approval could take and if will even be built?
Another option suggested considering moving the tunnel farther east (away from Park Ave). This could work, but is it the best option? A tunnel in the proposed location provides the best location providing Old Town residents the ability to ride/walk from Old Town to Snow Creek to Kimball Junction without having to cross a major road. That’s significant!
No one can argue that our system of tunnels hasn’t provided us with safe routes to walk and ride: Comstock, the high school, Bonanza Deer, Valley Drive and several more into Old Town.
We approved a $15 million bond in 2008 to improve walkability and connectivity. It’s true that many things that have changed over the ensuing years, but those two objectives remain. This tunnel is another integral part of meeting those objectives.
The council should reconsider their direction to staff and allow the two absent members to voice their opinions. At a minimum it should be accounted for in the capital improvement budget so the money is there if the project moves forward.
What’s the answer to the question, “If not now, when?” It his highly unlikely this tunnel will ever happen if not now.
Alex Butwinski
Park City