UPDATE: On Monday, December 11, Save Our Canyons filed a lawsuit against UDOT and the Forest Service challenging the decision to build a gondola in LCC, represented by our outstanding counsel at the public interest law firm Eubanks & Associates, PLLC and with local representation ably provided by Joel Ban. Read our full lawsuit here.
Although we are foremost a public advocacy organization, we felt we had to litigate the gondola decision because:
- It ignores the desire of the vast majority of citizens NOT to spend enormous sums of tax dollars to construct a blight on one of the most stunning landscapes in our beautiful state.
- It dismisses your passionate desire—expressed in nearly 50,000 comments—to preserve the beauty and environment of our mountain landscapes that is essential both to life and quality of life.
- It is a colossal subsidy to two resorts that represent a miniscule portion of the Utah economy and that cater to a relatively small, relatively wealthy set of clients.
- It is a corrupt gift to a few politically connected businessmen who met secretly with UDOT and ultimately succeeded in causing it to reverse its decision NOT to consider an identical gondola.
- It plays no part in the comprehensive and integrated transportation system needed for the canyons and entire Wasatch Front, but is a tourist attraction toy sprung from the minds of compliant and careless politicians with naïve, soft-focus images of Zermatt and Chamonix dancing in their heads.
There has never been an issue that has pierced more deeply into the heart of our mission than this horrific gondola, so there is no choice for us— we MUST stand up against it.
This lawsuit is an extremely heavy financial lift for us and, from the beginning, we knew we would need your support to help us see this fight through.
So, at this critical time, Save Our Canyons is asking you to donate in support of the wildness and beauty of the Wasatch, and to help us continue to work for pragmatic transportation solutions for the Wasatch that serve all users, all seasons of the year, for generations to come.
DONATING TODAY HELPS TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE LEGAL CHALLENGE OF UDOT’S LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
Information
Background
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) issued the Record of Decision (ROD) in July identifying Gondola B with Phased Implementation as the selected alternative for Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC). UDOT will move forward in phases, starting with enhanced bus service and ending with the world’s longest gondola up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Full implementation of Gondola B depends on available funding.
The gondola is estimated to cost $1.4 billion dollars of taxpayer money. UDOT is asking Utah taxpayers to foot the bill for a gondola that serves two private businesses and their patrons (those who can afford to and choose to ride).
Stretching over 8 miles long, the gondola would begin at the base of LCC and include only two stops: Snowbird Ski Resort and Alta Ski Area. The gondola would consist of 20 towers and 2 angle stations, ranging from 130 to 262 feet tall.
Save Our Canyons strongly opposes the gondola because it won't solve traffic congestion, but instead threatens our critical watershed and limits canyon access for non-resort users.
We support lower-cost solutions that utilize our existing infrastructure, such as year-round enhanced bus service with stops at multiple locations and more frequent service at peak times, carpool incentives (ex. occupancy-based tolling), enforcement of the traction law, and mandatory parking reservations at ski resorts.
While we’re disappointed UDOT is moving forward with the gondola after widespread opposition from local communities and public officials, we still have time to act.
Timeline
(Timeline adapted from UDOT's LCC project information.)
Spring 2018
UDOT began an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for LCC and Fort Union Blvd. to assess transportation solutions. UDOT opened its first comment period to receive input on the scope of the project.
2019
Based on the first comment period, UDOT modified the EIS to also consider avalanche mitigation, parking at popular access points, and spillover congestion onto Wasatch Blvd. After discovering the Wasatch Front Regional Council identified roadway improvements for LCC, such as widening Wasatch Blvd., in its 2019 Draft Regional Transportation Plan, UDOT decided to again change the EIS to include the council's "recommendation". A public comment period was open from March-June and again from November to December. UDOT ended the year with a list of over 100 concepts.
Summer 2020
In June, UDOT identified three alternatives; an enhanced bus system with road widening, an enhanced bus system without widening, and a gondola beginning at the mouth of LCC. UDOT opened another public comment period, this time focused on the three identified alternatives.
Winter 2020
After nearly 7,000 public comments, UDOT published an addendum to add the options of a gondola and cog rail both beginning at La Caille, in addition to an enhanced bus system with and without road widening and a gondola beginning at the mouth of LCC.
2021
UDOT released the Draft EIS with two preferred alternatives: the La Caille gondola and an enhanced bus system with road widening. UDOT opened up a 70-day public comment period. After making revisions to a chapter in the Draft EIS, UDOT opened an additional public comment period in December 2021. The two public comment periods resulted in over 14,000 comments.
2022
UDOT released the Final EIS and identified the La Caille gondola, with a phased approach, as their preferred alternative. UDOT chose a phased approach because it would take years to secure funding and fully construct the gondola. A final comment period ensued and UDOT received another 14,000 comments, bringing the total number of comments from 2020-2022 to over 35,000, shattering UDOT records.
March 2023
UDOT announced a new public comment period regarding two new reports.
The first report assesses the gondola's impacts on federally protected Roadless Areas, an issue UDOT failed to address during the EIS process. The gondola would require towers, angle stations, and snowsheds within one of the Wasatch’s most protected areas, impacting three Roadless Areas in Little Cottonwood Canyon: Twin Peaks, Lone Peak, and White Pine Roadless Areas. Road construction and timber harvesting are typically prohibited in these areas under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. UDOT claims building a gondola would be exempt from the Roadless Rule because the gondola is not a road, and any timber removal would be incidental. Learn more by reading our "Roadless Rule 101" blog.
The second report makes changes to the air quality analysis, most notably, the assumption that all buses would be diesel powered under the phased gondola plan. If UDOT can adjust its analysis to consider the possibility of using higher emissions fuels like diesel, why can’t UDOT also assess the impact of electric buses?
July 2023
UDOT announced its final decision (Record of Decision) and selected the gondola, with a phased approach.
What's Next?
The first two phases of the Record of Decision include enhanced bus service, tolling, and snowsheds in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The gondola comes later in Phase 3. You can see the details of the phases in the image below:
UDOT still needs to secure funding for parts of Phase 1 and 2, and for the gondola, so although UDOT issued its decision, there is still an opportunity to engage and prevent the gondola from ever coming to fruition.
