Save Our Canyons - No Gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon

NO GONDOLA IN LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON. We must take action before UDOT finalizes their decision to move forward with the gondola.

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) started an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2018 to find transportation solutions for Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC). In August 2022, UDOT announced the gondola as its preferred solution. UDOT will issue its Record of Decision (ROD), or final decision, this summer based on comments from the Final EIS. UDOT will then need to find funding.

The proposed gondola is approx. 8-miles long. It would begin at the base of LCC and include 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 carpool incentives (ex. occupancy-based tolling), year-round enhanced bus service with stops at multiple locations and more frequent service at peak times, enforcement of the traction law, and mandatory parking reservations at ski resorts.

While we’re disappointed UDOT is still considering the gondola after widespread opposition from local communities and public officials, we still have time to act.

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Facts About the Gondola

Why We Oppose the Gondola

The issues we face in the Wasatch are far more complicated than simply adding a new mode of transportation. The gondola proposal:

Doesn't solve the congestion issue
- The gondola will push cars farther back into Granite, Sandy and Cottonwood Heights as people line up for limited spots at the gondola’s parking facility. Those lucky enough to nab a parking spot will ride the gondola, and everyone else will line back up for a spot or drive up the canyon.
Limits canyon access to non-resort patrons
- 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). Everyone else will be left to sit in the traffic below. The gondola, by design, is an exclusive experience.
- Non-ski resort visitors who wish to access other areas of the canyon to climb, backcountry ski, bird watch, angle, snowshoe (the list goes on) are left without a reliable transportation option other than their own vehicles.
- Access to transit and to our public lands should be equitable. Providing access to public lands must be affordable and efficient. A gondola does not promote justice, impartiality, and fairness for the majority of our communities. Further, damages to the environment and our watershed will not be paid for by the beneficiaries of these projects, they will be paid for by those who didn’t wish to be impacted in the first place.
Endangers our critical watershed
- UDOT claims the gondola is the “environmental solution,” but in reality the project will leave an unimaginable ecological footprint. The construction of 22 towers over 200+ high will permanently disrupt trailheads, recreation areas, climbing routes, and the breathtaking views we love. Construction debris will jeopardize our critical watershed that supplies more than 60% of the Salt Lake Valley’s water, in the midst of an already historic drought. The Wasatch Mountains have a finite capacity, yet they’re being forced to support an endlessly growing population as we attempt to maximize resort patronage.

Maeve Reiss

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.

What's Next?

UDOT will issue its Record of Decision (ROD), or final decision, in the coming weeks based on comments from the Final EIS. UDOT will then need to find funding for the alternative it selects. Depending on when the ROD is released, UDOT may try and secure funding during the (ongoing) legislative session.

Meanwhile, the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) voted to include UDOT’s phased gondola proposal in the Draft 2023-2050 Regional Transportation Plan and release it for public comment. The WFRC develops a new transportation plan every four years for the Salt Lake and Ogden metropolitan areas. While including the gondola in the plan doesn’t ensure funding, it does make it easier for UDOT to get funding for the project in the future. The comment period is open until Feb. 26.

Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) Comments