The traffic in the vicinity of the Park City-side base of Park City Mountain has long been some of the most congested in the community as skiers and snowboarders arrive in the morning and leave at the end of the ski day.
Park City officials over the years have attempted to protect the surrounding neighborhoods, including the northern reaches of Old Town, from the skier traffic, nudging drivers away from neighborhood streets and toward streets designed to better carry that much traffic.
City Hall, though, in the last year-plus quietly instituted more dramatic measures on the perimeter of the Park City Mountain base in the effort to protect the neighborhood streets. The municipal government installed gates at two spots, deploying them at certain times when traffic is expected to peak.
The gates are at the intersection of Empire Avenue and 14th Street and at the Empire Avenue-15th Street intersection. The gate on 14th Street appeared early in 2024, while the one on 15th Street was installed in the spring of this year. City Hall said the gates replaced concrete barriers that were used for the same purpose. The concrete barriers were deployed manually since 2022. The gates “are safer, more snowplow-friendly, less labor-intensive, and more aesthetically appropriate,” according to City Hall.
“The goal is to protect neighborhood quality of life, reduce cut-through traffic, and improve safety during high-traffic periods,” the municipal government said in prepared responses to a Park Record inquiry about the gates.
The gates are outfitted with signs indicating the roads are closed with pedestrian traffic allowed. The gates were in the upright position this week.
The gates do not block all routes to any road and they are only activated during the peak winter months, when traffic is typically the worst. People who live on the impacted stretches of road “retain full access to their properties via alternate routes during activation periods,” City Hall said.
“The gates are positioned at strategic entry points to discourage non-local traffic, but they do not restrict resident access to their homes,” the responses said.
The municipal government also said emergency services “have full access” to the streets. Snowplows also can access the streets.
“Snowplow crews were integral to the planning process and helped inform both gate placement and timing. The gates are significantly more efficient for snow operations compared to the former concrete barriers,” City Hall said.
The municipal government said the gates are not designed to be a pilot program, but officials will continue to evaluate the effectiveness and accept public input. Gates are not under consideration elsewhere in Park City.
The locations selected for gates “limit access to neighborhood streets immediately east of Empire during peak winter traffic periods, reducing cut-through traffic between Park Avenue and Woodside,” according to the municipal government.
City Hall said the gates cost around $10,000 and the municipal procurement process was followed. The installation of the gates did not require approval by the Park City Council, City Hall said, and “were completed through staff-level operational planning and were not part of a formal council agenda item, as they replaced an existing mitigation practice and were funded within existing operational budgets.”