Comment Period Closed!

At a recent board meeting, the CWC unanimously passed a resolution approving an updated feasibility study for a Mill Creek Canyon Shuttle Program.

A Mill Creek Canyon shuttle has been part of the Mountain Accord vision from the beginning, and the CWC has never lost sight of that. In particular, the Stakeholders Council’s Mill Creek Canyon Committee has worked tirelessly to keep the shuttle concept front of mind for the CWC. In keeping with the goals of the Mountain Accord Charter, the shuttle would help maintain a quality user experience and preserve vegetation and wildlife through a reduction of canyon vehicular presence—so that the four systems (environment, transportation, recreation, and economy) identified in the Mountain Accord remain in balance.

“Ten years ago, at the launch of the Mountain Accord, the signers envisioned a shuttle program in Mill Creek Canyon to reduce congestion, alleviate parking shortages, and minimize user conflicts in an already busy canyon,” said Jeff Silvestrini, City of Millcreek Mayor and CWC Board Chair. “A decade later, this beloved canyon is even busier, and the need for reliable transportation has only grown. Now, with Upper Mill Creek Canyon temporarily closed and construction underway in Emigration and City Creek Canyons, the Cottonwoods simply can’t absorb the overflow of visitors. This updated feasibility study is the next step toward making the recreation experience in Mill Creek Canyon more efficient, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone.”

Part of Salt Lake County’s 2012 Regional Transportation Plan was the 2012 Mill Creek Canyon Shuttle Feasibility Study. The study sought to address the primary issues in the canyon: full parking lots at popular trailheads, illegal parking on the roadway, pedestrians walking long distances on the main road to reach popular trailheads, and watershed degradation, loss of vegetation, and erosion caused by overflow parking. The project team looked into parking management concepts, transit concepts, and bicycle and pedestrian concepts.

For the transit concept, the study looked into a winter shuttle, a summer all-canyon shuttle, and a summer upper canyon shuttle outfitted with capabilities for hauling bikes, skis, dogs, and more. Ten years later, the CWC completed a Visitor Use Study, providing valuable information for an updated shuttle feasibility study. With populations along the Wasatch Front trending upward and the desire to spend time in this stunning canyon only increasing, an updated study was found to be warranted.

Because Upper Mill Creek Canyon will be closed for construction beginning in summer 2025—resulting in a temporary loss of many parking spaces—the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (UWCNF) began considering a shuttle program to service the lower canyon. UWCNF approached the CWC to research and develop a proposal to assess the current feasibility of a shuttle program that would begin service in summer 2025 and adapt as construction continues in the canyon.

The updated Mill Creek Shuttle Feasibility Study will be performed by Fehr & Peers, the Salt Lake City-based transportation planning firm that conducted the original 2012 Feasibility Study, during late summer 2025. The scope of their study is as follows:

• They will identify parking demand and, in partnership with UDOT, Salt Lake County, USFS, the City of Millcreek, and Skyline High School, look for an ideal parking location.
• The study will examine vehicle occupancy, proposed shuttle frequency and ridership, and overall demand to determine if collected fees can be reduced with shuttle implementation. They will develop up to three scenarios to analyze this possibility.
• The study will create two service plans. The “pilot” program will provide transportation while the upper canyon is closed during construction. This is an opportunity to determine fleet size and frequency while planning-level capital and operations costs.
• Once the FLAP project is complete, a second service plan will be developed to expand to the Big Water parking lot area.
• Service plan discussions will include possible private providers to ascertain levels of interest.
• These discussions will also include gathering ideas about how to accommodate dogs, skis, and bikes on the shuttle.

The CWC is currently accepting public comments related to the Mill Creek Canyon Shuttle concept now, Monday, July 14, 2025, through Tuesday, August 12, 2025.

Questions to consider when crafting your comments:

• What would encourage you to ride a Mill Creek Canyon Shuttle? (Convenience, hassle-free parking, dogs allowed, bikes allowed, skis allowed, or something else.)
• What would prevent or discourage you from riding a Mill Creek Canyon Shuttle? (Price, schedule, travel time, or something else.)
• If there were a shuttle, would you ride it in summer, winter, fall, spring, or year-round?
• Would you ride a shuttle on weekdays, weekends, or all week?
• Would you be willing to pay more, less, or the same compared to the current $5 per day or $50 per year fee?
• Do you have any general comments on a Mill Creek Canyon Shuttle concept?

There are four ways to comment:

• Send us an email: comments@cwc.utah.gov
• Call us during business hours: (435) 650-0614
• Fill out our comment form below
• Mail a comment to:
  Central Wasatch Commission
  311 S. State St., Ste. 330
  Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Your comments and input will help guide the CWC as we consider the feasibility of implementing a shuttle in Mill Creek Canyon. Not all recommendations will be possible, but all will be considered. We highly value your input and look forward to hearing from you.