Many pedestrians and bicyclists on the pathway that connects Prospector, the City Park area and Old Town likely have not noticed a touch of blue coloring visible through the vegetation.
Nor is the blue seen by motorists on nearby Bonanza Drive and Deer Valley Drive, though the noise of traffic on the busy roads is heard from the location.
It is a tarp covering what seems to be some sort of mattress where a person may have slept. The tarp, as of the middle of the week, had been there for at least 10 days. It is steps from Poison Creek and the most visible feature of what appears to be an abandoned encampment. There were various items on the ground near the tarp, including plastic crates and plastic hangers.
No one was seen at the location on four occasions during a 10-day period through the middle of the week, and the scene did not appear to have been changed significantly during that time.
Homelessness is not widespread in Park City, but the Police Department occasionally receives reports of sightings of people described as homeless or homeless encampments. The reports over the years have been logged in various locations, including along Poison Creek, on hillsides and on the edge of neighborhoods. There are limited resources for the homeless in Park City, and there is no local shelter.
The police logged at least one report that appeared to have involved the location. The agency at 10:19 a.m. on Sept. 4 received a report about what was described to the police as a “large homeless camp,” with the location identified as Deer Valley Drive and nearby Prospector. The police classified the case as suspected vagrancy, a category of complaint that is often attached to reports of homelessness.
The day before, at 9:39 a.m., a report to the police was logged on Bonanza Drive that may have involved the same location. In that case, municipal parks workers reported “abandoned property on city land,” according to the Police Department report. The police and municipal parks and trails workers “marked the property that it would be removed” at 1 p.m. on Sept. 5. The report also indicated the municipal government intended to “post signs stating that there is no camping or abandoning property in the area.” A notice of criminal trespass was attached to the blue tarp by the afternoon of Sept. 6.
A sign prohibiting camping without the permission of the municipal government, which is the landowner, is posted nearby. The sign also prohibits open burning. There has long been concern that someone living in an encampment could ignite a wildfire if they use a campfire for cooking or warmth.
Some of the recent cases that involved camping, suspected homelessness or similar sorts of reports include:
- On Sept. 10 at 12:06 a.m., a delivery driver on Main Street informed the police that it appeared that “there is a homeless person camping at the top of the stairs” at a restaurant. The person looked “ragged,” the police were told.
- On Sept. 6 at 6:44 p.m., someone in the area of Meadows Drive and S.R. 224 told the Police Department of a “transient camp” visible from the person’s residence. The police were told the location was “up a trail” off the intersection of the two streets.
- On Sept. 5 at 7:35 a.m., a “red shed” was reported in the area of Homestake Road. The police were told a person was living there.
Police officers, meanwhile, occasionally check places where the homeless or transients are sometimes seen. An officer, for example, at 12:09 a.m. on Sept. 12, stopped at the Old Town transit center on a foot patrol. The building was clear, the police said.