More on the WFRC and RTP:
The Wasatch Front Regional Council is a decision-making body with representatives from various municipalities and agencies who plan transit across the region. Members of this council include elected and non-elected officials from Salt Lake City, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), Utah Transit Authority (UTA), Salt Lake County, and other local governments.
The RTP acts as a vision board for local, state, and regional planners to coordinate long-term transportation projects across jurisdictions and funding sources. The scope of this plan is much larger than Little Cottonwood Canyon, and within it are many good transit projects, which in a vacuum we would be in support of. Unfortunately, because of UDOT’s flawed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in Little Cottonwood Canyon, the WFRC chose to include the gondola in the 2023 iteration of the plan.
Some things haven’t changed in the last three years; the gondola is still an environmental travesty, a taxpayer-funded handout to private ski resorts (Snowbird and Alta), and an inefficient strategy to solve the issues at hand.
Some things have changed though; building costs have skyrocketed due to inflation and tariffs, while we have seen significant movement towards consensus on the implementation of equitable, low-impact bus transit in both Cottonwood Canyons. Now that this plan is up for review, the Wasatch Front Regional Council has the opportunity to fix their mistake, and we need your help to tell them that.
Already sent a message and want to do more? View and comment on this map published by WFRC.
Thank you for standing up for Little Cottonwood Canyon, your voice is the most important tool we have to protect the beauty and wildness of the Wasatch.
