The Central Wasatch Commission Approves the Big Cottonwood Canyon Mobility Action Plan

The Big Cottonwood Canyon Mobility Action Plan (BCC MAP)


The Central Wasatch Commission approved the final Big Cottonwood Canyon Mobility Action Plan (BCC MAP) during its Board meeting on Monday. The approval on Monday was the culmination of seven months of study for a comprehensive mobility action plan in Big Cottonwood Canyon that began in October 2022. The months-long process included data collection, mobility network analysis, a thorough review of existing transportation plans for the Canyon, and mobility hub assessment.

The Plan makes recommendations specific to infrastructure and transit in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Recommendation highlights include the following:

  • Restripe Big Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride lot
  • Implement a supplementary shuttle in Big Cottonwood Canyon
  • Enhanced bus service with a dedicated transit lane with resort mobility hubs
  • Improvements at the intersection between Fort Union Boulevard and Wasatch Boulevard
  • Tolling, restrictions to canyon on-road parking, and incentivizing bus options
  • Year-round bus service featuring canyon trailhead stops

An exhaustive scope of recommendations for Big Cottonwood Canyon may be found in the final BCC MAP.

Central Wasatch Commission Chair and Summit County Councilman Christopher F. Robinson remarked, “Big Cottonwood Canyon sees just as much, if not more, year-round recreational visitation as compared to Little Cottonwood Canyon, and we are pleased to release to the public this comprehensive mobility action plan for Big Cottonwood Canyon. I hope, on behalf of the Central Wasatch Commission, that the Big Cottonwood Canyon Mobility Action Plan provides a solid starting place for further study and analysis and eventual implementation of transportation solutions in the Canyon.”

The BCC MAP was a public process, beginning with a transportation and transit survey released to the public in January, which received just under 1,000 responses. After the draft BCC MAP was released in March, the CWC opened a comment period for the public to review and provide feedback on the draft plan. Major themes of the public comment included general support for the BCC MAP, desire for active transportation solutions, desire for an electric bus solution, and a desire for acknowledging visitor use impacts, analysis, monitoring, and enforcement.

Updates between the Draft BCC MAP released in March of this year, and the Final BCC MAP included revisions specific to each comment, additional overarching acknowledgement of additional bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, electric vehicles, and protection of the watershed and water quality concerns.

Read the Big Cottonwood Canyon Mobility Action Plan (BCC MAP) here

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