The Central Wasatch Commission’s Comment on the Scoping Phase of UDOT’s Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Study
The Central Wasatch Commission’s Comment on the Scoping Phase of UDOT’s Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Study
Dear Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Study team,
Please accept the following document as comments from the Central Wasatch Commission (CWC)
regarding the scoping of the Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Study. The CWC appreciates the
invitation to provide this comment.
The CWC and its stakeholders have been engaged partners in the Utah Department of Transportation’s
transportation process at each opportunity, since its inception, first with the Cottonwood Canyon
Transportation Action Plan that aimed to conduct additional planning and decision-making assessments
by studying transit, tolling, congestion, pedestrian and bike facilities, and parking facilities across both
Cottonwood Canyons. The intended outcome of the CC TAP was to develop a prioritized list of actions
and improvements to the Canyons, and to integrate short- and long-term solutions for both canyons.
After the CC TAP was discontinued, the Central Wasatch Commission embarked upon its Mountain
Transportation System Project in 2020 that culminated in the Central Wasatch Commission releasing a
public statement in support of six “pillars” that would comprise a safe, affective, and equitable regional
mountain transportation system for the Central Wasatch.
Those pillars are:
1. A visitor-use capacity study that corresponds to transportation and transit study and decision-
making is necessary.
2. Any transportation solution should minimize and mitigate negative environmental impacts,
including irreversible damage to the watersheds that provide precious drinking water to more
than 450,000 people in the Salt Lake Valley.
3. Traffic demand management strategies should address both traffic congestion on the roads
accessing the Cottonwood Canyons, as well as S.R. 190 itself. Canyon traffic management options
should include variable tolling, limited access for single occupancy vehicles, carpool programs, or
the reduction of on-road parking.
4. Transportation solutions should have the capacity for integration into the broader regional
transportation network. The CWC supports the exploration of transit micro-hubs in areas
throughout the valley as gathering places for visitors and residents to board transit to Big
Cottonwood Canyon.
5. The CWC considers year-round transit service a priority, including dispersed recreational
opportunities, and other dispersed recreational opportunities in the surrounding areas (such as
areas along the foothills).
6. Transportation improvements should be coupled with improved land and natural resource
protection. Transportation solutions for Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon should be conditioned
upon the passage of federal legislation — the Central Wasatch National Conservation and
Recreation Area Act. This coupling of federal legislation to transportation is necessary given the
delicate balance that was foundational to the Mountain Accord agreement, based on four
interdependent systems of the Central Wasatch: transportation, economy, recreation, and
environment.
Building on the MTS project, the CWC released the Big Cottonwood Canyon Mobility Action Plan (BCC
MAP) in 2023, which was designed to identify and develop strategies to guide multi-modal transportation
investments for Big Cottonwood Canyon—expanding sustainable transportation choices that support
positive environmental, social, and economic outcomes. The BCC MAP included the following
recommendations for Big Cottonwood Canyon:
1. Increase service of UTA Bus Route 972
a. Increase service to 15-minute frequency on existing UTA Route 972, servicing Solitude
and Brighton from Midvale Fort Union Station.
2. Supplementary reservation-based shuttle
a. Implementation of reservation-based shuttle between the Salt Lake Valley and Solitude
and Brighton resorts that supplements the underlying bus service.
3. Seasonal enhanced bus to resorts
a. Implement a minimum 10-minute frequency (at peak periods) enhanced bus service at
Solitude and Brighton resorts.
4. Exclusive transit lane
a. Implement an exclusive transit lane at strategic location(s) in the canyon to allow buses
to bypass traffic during congested peak periods.
5. Mobility hubs – Brighton Resort
a. Addition of mobility hub at Brighton Resort.
6. Mobility hubs – Solitude Mountain Resort
a. Addition of mobility hub at Solitude Mountain Resort.
7. Mobility hubs – Gravel Pit
a. Construct a mobility hub at gravel pit location.
8. Year-round local bus service
a. Provide a year-round bus service connecting Midvale Fort Union Station with various
stops within the canyon.
9. Trailhead bus stops
a. Provide bus stops at key trailhead/ recreation site locations.
10. Cottonwood–Midvale corridor core route
a. New Core Route with 15-minute service between Bingham Junction TRAX Station and
BCC Park & Ride.
11. 6200 South core route
a. New Core Route with 15-minute service between 5600 West and BCC Park & Ride.
12. Valley transit centers serving high-frequency transit connections to BCC
a. Create transit-to-canyon stations strategically connecting high-frequency transit in the
valley to BCC.
13. Fort Union intersection dual left-turn lane
a. Add dual left turn lane and extend queue storage length at Wasatch Blvd/Fort Union
intersection to provide for more reliable transit service.
14. Fort Union intersection merge lane
a. Extend merge lanes approximately a half mile east up S.R. 190 from Wasatch Blvd/ Fort
Union intersection to provide for more reliable transit service.
15. Dynamic (congestion-based) tolling
a. Implement a variable tolling structure with fees that are schedule based when there is
higher demand.
16. Incentivize bus use, beyond tolling
a. Could include additional vehicle occupancy restrictions, a parking reservation system that
builds upon the resorts’ existing parking reservation systems, and/or incentivizing bus use
through its fare structure.
17. Reduce/eliminate roadside parking
a. Implement restrictions on roadside parking. Exact locations and nature of these
restrictions could be location-specific (e.g., extending quarter mile from each resort),
timeframe specific (winter only, or during peak period hours during the winter or
summer), etc. Parking limitations would ideally be phased over time to allow for the
expansion of transit service and the addition of parking improvements in the valley to
accommodate users who switch from driving to using transit.
18. New canyons-specific transit agency
a. Creation of a new Canyons-specific transit agency to oversee funding, implementation,
and management of transit in the Cottonwood Canyons.
19. Bicycle, pedestrian, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accommodations
a. Inclusion of bicycle, pedestrian, and ADA features into design and implementation of
broader improvements.
The scope of UDOT’s environmental study in Big Cottonwood Canyon should include exploration into all
the above recommendations for transit and roadway improvements for Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Thank you for your consideration of the Central Wasatch Commission’s comments on the BCC
environmental study scoping phase. Accounting for the populations of the jurisdictions that comprise the
Central Wasatch Commission, Board, the CWC collectively represents 1,443,788 people. We hope our
comments serve to enhance the environmental study process in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Individual member entities of CWC may provide additional feedback to UDOT on behalf of their
organizations. CWC comments may not be inclusive of concerns or comments of individual CWC member
entities and reflect the mission of CWC in implementing the intent of Mountain Accord.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeff Silvestrini, Millcreek Mayor, Central Wasatch Commission Chair
Erin Mendenhall, Central Wasatch Commission Co-Chair, Salt Lake City Mayor
Christopher F. Robinson, Summit County Council Member
Monica Zoltanski, Sandy City Mayor
Bill Ciraco, Park City Council Member
Michael Weichers, Cottonwood Heights Mayor
Dan Knopp, Town of Brighton Mayor
Roger Bourke, Town of Alta Mayor