The Park City Police Department last week received a complaint about the snowmaking operations at Park City Mountain Resort.
The police at 7:07 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 27, were told there were between 8 and 10 inches of manmade snow “all over the road” on 8th Street between the intersections with Park Avenue and Woodside Avenue.
The police said the snow created a traffic hazard.
Public police logs referred to “Vail” snowmaking, but it was not clear from the logs whether the person who contacted the agency used the name or whether dispatchers inputted the word. “Vail” is a reference to Vail Resorts, the Colorado-based owner of PCMR.
The Old Town location of the Dec. 27 report is in close proximity to the Town Lift runs of PCMR. The Town Lift runs border several neighborhood streets, and the snow from the snowmaking operations sometimes is blown onto the nearby roads and vehicles.
It would be highly unusual, though, for the snowmaking operations to leave up to 10 inches of snow in the surrounding neighborhood.
The police occasionally also receive complaints about the noise from snowmaking operations.
A PCMR representative did not immediately respond to a Park Record inquiry regarding the report to the police.
The actual snow last week also caused numerous issues as the storm struck at a time when Park City was busy with large holiday crowds.
The police reported another series of slide-off accidents after cases in the week before. A slide-off accident was reported on Marsac Avenue at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3. The police said a tow truck was needed. Earlier that day, at 12:38 a.m., a slide-off accident was logged on Marsac Avenue. The car in the 12:38 a.m. case “went crashing into” the side of a gate, the police said. The driver was out of the vehicle and walking afterward, according to the police.
On Thursday, Dec. 30 at 8:17 a.m., meanwhile, six vehicles were reported to be buried in snow in the area of the intersection of Daly Avenue and Hillside Avenue. They were tagged with orders to be removed within 72 hours.
The Police Department on Dec. 27 received two complaints in quick succession regarding snowplows. The police at 9:15 a.m. were told of a snowplow pushing what was described as a “boulder” and snow onto a Norfolk Avenue driveway. The person was “upset,” the police said. The Police Department at 9:12 a.m. received a report that a snowplow reportedly hit a car on Little Bessie Avenue. The accident occurred approximately 30 minutes prior to the report, the police were told.