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When the Mormon pioneers first came to Utah, their “highway” into the Salt Lake valley was Emigration Canyon. Then someone realized another canyon – what is now called Parley’s Canyon – offered a better route.
So what happened?
An entrepreneur named Parley P. Pratt went to work. He got a road constructed and began charging travelers a fee to use it. Parley’s Canyon was Utah’s first toll road. And aside from the Adams Avenue Parkway in Washington Terrace south of Ogden, there haven’t been significant toll roads in Utah since.
Now, the idea of toll roads is about to get a thorough hearing on Capitol Hill. In view of Utah’s burgeoning growth and the state’s projected transportation needs, KSL encourages such innovative discussion.
It has been said the state will need to spend more than $16.5 billion over the next 25 years to keep traffic and commerce moving. There simply won’t be enough money in traditional state coffers to do it. So, why not let the private sector and those motorists who would benefit from such roads share in the cost.
Parley P. Pratt did it in 1850. It met a need and resulted in community progress. KSL believes good things will also come in our day from toll roads, if developed correctly.
