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ST. GEORGE — Jamie Stewart drove herself to Zion National Park for decades, but after she lost her eyesight and the ability to walk she was forced to look for other options.
“When it came time and I found out I was going to be able to get back into the things that I loved to do for quality of life, there was no ride (to Zion),” she said. “I looked and I looked and I did everything I could on the Internet and I was aghast. I couldn’t believe it.”
Stewart started attending local transportation meetings and advocating for a new public transit link. While the idea of a bus service between St. George, Hurricane and Springdale has been considered for years, it has recently gained traction among local political leaders.
At the beginning of March, the Washington County Council of Governments voted to fund a new study to examine whether implementing a bus service would be feasible in the short term, including an evaluation of details such as where funding would come from and who would operate the system.
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Two studies were previously conducted in 2010 to take a long-range look at a possible bus rapid transit system between the communities. Representatives from Hurricane City, Springdale City, Zion National Park and St. George’s SunTran have been involved with the project, which is being spearheaded by the Five County Association of Governments.
“We’ve seen a lot of interest for it and we feel like there is a demand, not only in these studies that were done, but in other plans it has always come up that there needs to be a bus between St. George and Zion,” said Levi Roberts, associate planner for the Five County Association of Governments.
It will take several months for the study to get started, and a few more years to obtain funding and busses, but Roberts estimated that if all the pieces come together a service could optimistically launch as soon as 2019.
Currently, St. George is the only city in the area with a public transit service. SunTran carries about 450,000 passengers a year and recently expanded to reach its sister city Ivins, according to SunTran manager Fred Davies. An interlocal agreement is moving forward to connect Washington City to the system.
There are still a lot of people who need transit and so we get calls very frequently from visitors to the city asking how they can get out (to Zion) and we just don't have the opportunity right now.
–Fred Davies, SunTran manager
“There are still a lot of people who need transit and so we get calls very frequently from visitors to the city asking how they can get out (to Zion) and we just don’t have the opportunity right now,” Davies said. “Then there is the local population that needs an opportunity to get out either into that area or to get to employment somewhere along that track.”
Funding for the bus link would likely come from a combination of sources, including the National Park Service and federal grants, according to Roberts. He said the transit service would probably be operated by a partnership between Zion National Park, the cities and SunTran, although the new study could present more alternatives.
While the proposed transit system would be open to park visitors, its primary purpose would be to serve as a commuter service. Advocates pointed out that a lot of people who work in Springdale can’t afford to live there and don’t have any alternative to driving, which creates additional costs for the workers. People who commute to or from Hurricane and La Verkin face similar problems.
"I am hopeful that we will be able to provide the services," said Hurricane mayor John Bramall. "I would like to see that individuals throughout the county who are unable to drive either due to finances, age, or disability, would be able to travel to work and visit the park from the major areas in the county."
I would like to see that individuals throughout the county who are unable to drive either due to finances, age, or disability, would be able to travel to work and visit the park from the major areas in the county.
–John Bramall, mayor of Hurricane
A bus service between Springdale and St. George could also alleviate parking problems during Zion’s busy season. Visitors to Zion currently park in Springdale, where they can take a shuttle into the national park.
“They say there’s space for people to go in and enjoy the park and go on hikes. They have plenty of trails, but they don’t want to build more parking lots,” Roberts said. “They want to have as low an impact on the environment as possible, so if they can just push people down where most people are living or staying and bring them up by the shuttle, then it kind of works for everyone.”
In the meantime, Stewart said people who have physical handicaps or are lower income continue to struggle to find a way to Zion and its neighboring communities. Her mother and brother were both buried in the Springdale Cemetery in remembrance of beautiful days spent together as a family in Zion, but when she used a private shuttle company to attend her brother’s headstone placement in November, it cost $170 round trip.
“I’ve been waging kind of war of my own to see what’s holding up (the public bus service), what the politics are behind it and how we can make it happen,” she said.
Comments on the proposed transit link can be sent to the Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is operated under the Five County Association of Governments.
