There is a range of options for people headed between Park City and Salt Lake City International Airport.
Personal vehicles, rental cars, a variety of taxi and shuttle companies and rideshare firms seem to be the most popular. Someone can also catch their flight via bus from the Park City area to a TRAX line that serves the airport.
As Park City leaders consider a set of transportation concepts that have collectively been labeled emerging disruptors — named for their potential to radically change the way someone is able to move about — one of them could especially draw interest from Parkites who regularly fly in and out of Salt Lake City as well as visitors who use the airport.
A connection to the airport was one in a series of concepts that was presented to Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council this week. The elected officials were not scheduled to make decisions about any of the concepts, and they did not spend extensive time on any of them. The mayor and City Council are expected to return to the discussions about the concepts later in the year.
A consultant drafted a paper about an airport connection that was distributed to the elected officials prior to the meeting, covering some of the issues related to a service and raising certain questions. The questions included what entity could offer a service, such as airlines, hotels or transit systems, and whether there is a role in a connection for the mountain resorts.
The paper says an analysis in 2018 identified the potential of bus service linking the airport and Summit County, possibly with stops at the transit center at Kimball Junction and the Old Town transit center. That service was not pursued, but the study included estimates for operating costs that reached up to $5.7 million for 300 days of service in a year.
The paper also mentions the idea of an urban air mobility service — helicopters or flying machines of the future — someday linking Park City and the airport. Services like those “would require infrastructure at both ends of the journey such as a vertiport (helipad), passenger facilities, and connectivity to the local transportation system,” the paper says.
Various segments of the local business community, as well as fliers, would be expected to closely follow any prospects of some sort of connection between Park City and the Salt Lake City airport.
The Park City-area transportation industry would likely be intensely interested in the details of any airport connection. Firms that serve the airport could have concerns about competition from a connection. It is something that could increase tensions between government officials and taxi and shuttle firms as a service is debated, particularly if a service is offered at a substantially lower cost than those charged by the transportation industry.
The tourism industry could see a connection as providing a potential boost since there would be another way to reach Park City from the airport.
Fliers from the Park City area, meanwhile, could be intrigued by an airport option that eliminates the need to leave a personal vehicle at the airport for an extended period.
The proximity of the international airport, and the large presence of Delta Air Lines there, have long been seen as competitive advantages for Park City over the more remote mountain resorts in North America that are served by regional airports. The airport is also seen as a crucial cog in the broader economy of northern Utah.