Vote for Utah ski bus

[thetrailboss]

That was well done,.. seemed to get all sides.

What's your take? Gondola, more busses or train? Or do nothing?

Mixed. There are stil things that can easily be done NOW at little or no cost that will remedy the traffic woes. When Alta went to parking reservations, it helped A LOT. Brighton did the same last year as did Solitude and it is much better. Snowbird is holding out. First, they tried parking reservations in 20202-2021 and completely screwed it up. They are hesitant to do it again. Second, Snowbird wants the Gondola because they see their future as needing more visitors to be economically sustainable. Even though the Mary Ellen expansion was approved almost ten years ago, POWDR has said that they will not expand until they get the traffic figured out. Last, Snowbird is actually using the no reservation thing as a marketing tool to get IKON passholders since everyone else in the Cottonwoods has reservations.

I am not a fan because I think, again, that there are less expensive things that can be done first before spending a billion dollars of taxpayer funds on a gondola. It really only benefits Snowbird and Alta.

Selfishly though I ski LCC a lot so it would benefit me....theoretically.

 

[ss20]

Mixed. There are stil things that can easily be done NOW at little or no cost that will remedy the traffic woes. When Alta went to parking reservations, it helped A LOT. Brighton did the same last year as did Solitude and it is much better. Snowbird is holding out. First, they tried parking reservations in 20202-2021 and completely screwed it up. They are hesitant to do it again. Second, Snowbird wants the Gondola because they see their future as needing more visitors to be economically sustainable. Even though the Mary Ellen expansion was approved almost ten years ago, POWDR has said that they will not expand until they get the traffic figured out. Last, Snowbird is actually using the no reservation thing as a marketing tool to get IKON passholders since everyone else in the Cottonwoods has reservations.

I am not a fan because I think, again, that there are less expensive things that can be done first before spending a billion dollars of taxpayer funds on a gondola. It really only benefits Snowbird and Alta.

Selfishly though I ski LCC a lot so it would benefit me....theoretically.

Couldn't of said it better myself. Billions of $$$ in improvements before $100k has been spent on what are incredibly easy fixes.

 

[djd66]

What are the easy fixes?

 

[ss20]

What are the easy fixes?

from roughly easiest to hardest

-eliminating roadside parking (this would be the most impactful thing as well).
-actually forcing Snowbird into requiring parking reservations like they were warned about years ago.
-actually staffing the canyon entry checking tires.
-actually going through with the traction law vehicle compliance sticker program that the public fully embraced and the UDOT implemented just didn't execute... at all. This is probably my favorite UDOT story so far. The stupidity of it all sounds like a comedic sketch not real life. UDOT paid for and distributed thousands of stickers to dozens of local tire shops and rental car companies. Thousands of residents then took the time to go to these shops, get their tires inspected, and get a sticker for their car. The idea was that now UDOT could just wave through much of the canyon road lineup on road delay mornings rather than stopping and checking each car's tires. All this effort, and they checked tires a whopping 2 times the first season. They did the exact same thing again the next year, and checked tires.... once. Oh and they still stopped every car that went up, no wave through.
-bringing back full bus service... 8 LCC busses every hour when I got here, now it is a whopping 2
-metering the merge points with ramp lights... something UDOT and the local populace is already EXTREMELY familiar with as 70%ish of highway entries in the valley are metered. Oh and they actually tested this using cops for a few days 2 seasons ago and it was considered a success.

 

[thetrailboss]

from roughly easiest to hardest

-eliminating roadside parking (this would be the most impactful thing as well).
-actually forcing Snowbird into requiring parking reservations like they were warned about years ago.
-actually staffing the canyon entry checking tires.
-actually going through with the traction law vehicle compliance sticker program that the public fully embraced and the UDOT implemented just didn't execute... at all. This is probably my favorite UDOT story so far. The stupidity of it all sounds like a comedic sketch not real life. UDOT paid for and distributed thousands of stickers to dozens of local tire shops and rental car companies. Thousands of residents then took the time to go to these shops, get their tires inspected, and get a sticker for their car. The idea was that now UDOT could just wave through much of the canyon road lineup on road delay mornings rather than stopping and checking each car's tires. All this effort, and they checked tires a whopping 2 times the first season. They did the exact same thing again the next year, and checked tires.... once. Oh and they still stopped every car that went up, no wave through.
-bringing back full bus service... 8 LCC busses every hour when I got here, now it is a whopping 2
-metering the merge points with ramp lights... something UDOT and the local populace is already EXTREMELY familiar with as 70%ish of highway entries in the valley are metered. Oh and they actually tested this using cops for a few days 2 seasons ago and it was considered a success.

Yep.

 

[djd66]

from roughly easiest to hardest

-eliminating roadside parking (this would be the most impactful thing as well).
-actually forcing Snowbird into requiring parking reservations like they were warned about years ago.
-actually staffing the canyon entry checking tires.
-actually going through with the traction law vehicle compliance sticker program that the public fully embraced and the UDOT implemented just didn't execute... at all. This is probably my favorite UDOT story so far. The stupidity of it all sounds like a comedic sketch not real life. UDOT paid for and distributed thousands of stickers to dozens of local tire shops and rental car companies. Thousands of residents then took the time to go to these shops, get their tires inspected, and get a sticker for their car. The idea was that now UDOT could just wave through much of the canyon road lineup on road delay mornings rather than stopping and checking each car's tires. All this effort, and they checked tires a whopping 2 times the first season. They did the exact same thing again the next year, and checked tires.... once. Oh and they still stopped every car that went up, no wave through.
-bringing back full bus service... 8 LCC busses every hour when I got here, now it is a whopping 2
-metering the merge points with ramp lights... something UDOT and the local populace is already EXTREMELY familiar with as 70%ish of highway entries in the valley are metered. Oh and they actually tested this using cops for a few days 2 seasons ago and it was considered a success.

I know the skiing is good up there, but it just seems like a major PITA to deal with all the BS. If I'm travelling to ski out west, not sure I would want to make it my place to visit as there are way too many other ski areas when you don't have the congestion issues.

 

[thetrailboss]

I know the skiing is good up there, but it just seems like a major PITA to deal with all the BS. If I'm travelling to ski out west, not sure I would want to make it my place to visit as there are way too many other ski areas when you don't have the congestion issues.

Understandable. The terrain and snow is world class and in eyesight of a growing metro area.

 

[jimk]

I know the skiing is good up there, but it just seems like a major PITA to deal with all the BS. If I'm travelling to ski out west, not sure I would want to make it my place to visit as there are way too many other ski areas when you don't have the congestion issues.

Save it for April after many areas around the country close. Head to Alta/Bird or Sol/Bright in April when the snow can still be really good and the crowds gone.

10 Apr 2024, Mineral Basin at Snowbird


29 April 2023 view from Great Western section at Brighton, UT.


12 April 2022, Alta, me, one foot new snow and 15 degrees.



27 April 2021, another one foot powder day, very high quality snow, this face shot is middle cirque at Snowbird


Same skier a few seconds later, guy was good.



1 May 2020, skinning with my son at Alta after all ski areas closed due to pandemic. How far back do you want me to go?

 

[BenedictGomez]

I know the skiing is good up there, but it just seems like a major PITA to deal with all the BS. If I'm travelling to ski out west, not sure I would want to make it my place to visit as there are way too many other ski areas when you don't have the congestion issues.

And this is now causing more people who live on the Front to ski on the Back because they're just sick of it all.

I met a ton of SLC skiers this year who claim they never used to ski regularly at Park City before the last few years, but do now due to all the b******t they face in LCC & BCC.

 

[ThatGuy]

And this is now causing more people who live on the Front to ski on the Back because they're just sick of it all.

I met a ton of SLC skiers this year who claim they never used to ski regularly at Park City before the last few years, but do now due to all the b******t they face in LCC & BCC.

And realistically it can be a shorter drive to get to PC if you live anywhere North of Millcreek. With the added bonus of not waiting 2+ hours in the red snake on a powder day…