Utah Department of Transportation sued by coalition seeking common sense solution to Little Cottonwood Canyon traffic

DELTA, Utah, Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Canyon Guard, a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to finding sensible and less damaging solutions for transportation bottlenecks in Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC) filed a lawsuit challenging the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) decision to install a Gondola system as the final transportation solution.

Craig Heimark, Chair of Canyon Guard states, "We hope the lawsuit will induce a pause while additional analysis is performed, providing legislators time to review the over $1B cost of the Gondola Project, which is opposed by over 80% of the public respondents and all the affected area's mayors."

"Little Cottonwood Canyon is a world renowned venue that could be irreparably damaged by a hasty decision focused only on traffic congestion rather than on protecting the interests of all Utah citizens and canyon users."

Heimark continued, "we expect the lawsuit will create the time and space for Utah legislators to review and direct UDOT to consider and test cheaper and more effective transportation solutions by using the $150M recently authorized BEFORE allocating additional taxpayer dollars or making a final decision." 

Alternative solutions include:

• Restoring public bus service to at least 2019 levels;
• Testing the effectiveness of electric bus technology and service to satisfy demand, improving the quality and frequency of existing public transportation as mandated and funded by the State legislature:
• Requiring advance reserved parking;
• Enforcing mandatory traction laws for LCC, November 1 to May 1;
• Testing selected lane closures for private vehicles during peak traffic hours; to reduce the transit time of buses and micro-transit vehicles;
• Installing tolling infrastructure that includes variable pricing to promote carpooling and micro-transit solutions;
• Comparing cost and effectiveness of modern Remote Control Avalanche equipment to the proposed installation of very expensive snow sheds.

The lawsuit challenges several aspects of UDOT's process in its review and selection of the Gondola Project. Plaintiffs seek to invalidate the Final EIS and Record of Decision and require UDOT to consider the full impact of the Gondola Project in LCC, on its water resources and in the nearby neighborhoods and canyons.

Among other issues, the lawsuit alleges UDOT failed to:

• identify an appropriate purpose and need for the transportation concerns to justify the Gondola Project impacts and costs;
• consider reasonable alternatives and present unbiased analyses;
• adequately scope their Environmental Impact Statement analyzing impacts to views, wildlife, air and water quality, roadless areas, hazardous waste sites, and impacts to areas outside Little Cottonwood Canyon as required by law;
• substantively respond to public comments throughout the NEPA process, including those related to the above impacts and full/accurate costs of the Gondola Project;
• properly coordinate with the United States Forest Service, which manages nearly all of the land through which the Gondola system will operate; and
• comply with the 1966 Transportation Act enacted to protect our public recreation area, our trails and our local climbing areas.

Click Here for public concerns on the proposed Gondola

Click Here for further information on the lawsuit

Contact Pat Shea representative of Friends of Alta at [email protected]

Contact Canyon Guard at [email protected] 

Background on the UDOT Gondola Project:

Wintertime traffic safety and congestion in LCC is the concern driving UDOT. Unfortunately, UDOT did not research the effectiveness of many proven techniques, like reserved parking, and increasing busing, but focused on a first-of-its-kind 8-mile gondola from the Salt Lake Valley to the top of LCC. The gondola ride is expected to take over an hour, would stop at only two for-profit businesses, and cost every Utah household over $1000.

SOURCE Canyon Guard, Inc.