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SALT LAKE CITY — A transportation project will soon provide better connections along the east side of the Salt Lake Valley and into Summit County. But what will it look like?
That’s the question the Central Wasatch Commission is trying to answer, and one of the earliest points in the process to tackle that question will come to a close Sunday.
The organization is still seeking public input on the scope of work for a project that would connect everything from Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Sandy with Alta and other spots along the Wasatch Front, along with Park City and Summit County as a whole. The project, known as the Mountain Transportation System, is essentially the byproduct of the Mountain Accord agreement signed in 2015.
"We are early on in the process, and we’re picking up where the Mountain Accord left off," said Blake Perez, deputy director of the Central Wasatch Commission, which was formed in 2017.
"We’re trying to further develop some of the transportation initiatives and recommendations that came from that document," he added. "It’s sort of our guiding document that lays out all of the recommended suggestions for transportation improvements."
The accord laid out some goals the communities wanted from a transportation project. They include:
- Transit incentives and disincentives for automobiles, such as parking and pricing strategies.
- Improved transit connections in Summit County and high-capacity transit connections for the eastern part of the Salt Lake Valley.
- High-capacity transit in the Cottonwood canyons and Park City corridor.
- Year-round local bus service in the Cottonwood canyons.
- Fast transit service from the Salt Lake City International Airport to Park City.
- Improved transit service on U.S. Highway 40 and I-80 between Quinn's Junction and Kimball Junction in Summit County.
- Access improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians with the general areas.
The accord itself gave way once the CWC was formed. The agreement was still sued by a group of homeowners within the region, but that lawsuit was settled out of court in 2019, according to the Park Record.
CWC has since moved forward with projects from the agreement. At this point, the agency is asking for input for what people want from a transportation system between the two counties. It’s the first of three public comment periods in a year-long process to come up with a final plan.
"Right now is a great time to make sure that before we get started on this, that we’re scoping this right, that we’re prioritizing environmental impacts, what modes — what’s working, what’s not working," Perez said. "We want to make sure we have the right criteria and objectives and scope."
Once that period closes Sunday, those in charge of the project will spend the following weeks tweaking the scope of the project. They will then spend about four or five months looking into management strategies. That includes meeting with transportation experts to figure out how the scope currently being defined can be turned into a potential plan, Perez explained.
An open house and second public comment period are anticipated to begin in mid-June, when a management plan is completed, according to the timeline released by the CWC.
The development of a proposal is the next step after that. Perez said he hopes there will be a meeting in October with the leaders of all of the communities and other stakeholders that would be affected by the project, where a plan may be crafted that takes into account the scope currently being created.
We are taking into consideration those 2040, 2050 horizons, but there's a real need and urgency to try and do something today.
–Blake Perez, deputy director of the Central Wasatch Commission
The third and final public comment period is expected to be in the fall, with the commission possibly having a final proposal for the project by the end of the year.
It may seem like a tedious task, but it is for a good purpose, officials say. Those overseeing the project hope they get it right so it doesn’t create transportation headaches for generations in the future. That said, they also want something that works for Utahns now.
"There are some great recent studies about short and mid-term solutions that we'll consider and potentially pursue, and then we'll take that into account as we look at long-term solutions," Perez said, adding that they are working to see if short-term and long-term solutions can be combined. "We are taking into consideration those 2040, 2050 horizons, but there's a real need and urgency to try and do something today."
Public comments on the project can be submitted at CWC's website, by emailing to comments@cwc.utah.gov or by mailing the CWC officials at 41 N. Rio Grande St., Salt Lake City, UT 84101.
Even as the current public comment period comes to a close, Perez said those seeking to provide insight on the project should still send their ideas throughout the year in an effort to build consensus on it.
