Changing my mind on the Alta-Snowbird gondola

I used to be a staunch supporter of the 3S gondola that has been proposed by Utah’s department of transportation to mitigate the difficulties in accessing the Alta and Snowbird mountain resorts. With an estimated cost of the lift pegged at $550 million, plus another $7 million a year in operating and maintenance cost, the final total cost might well exceed one billion dollars if and when it gets done. 

While the cost of operating and maintaining the lift should be paid by users, the construction cost will be borne by all Utah taxpayers. One week ago, the Wasatch Front Regional Council approved a massive long-term regional transportation plan for the next 30 years. 

Although the council adopted UDOT’s environmental impact statement in its entirety, it did so with a caveat: by including a “statement of intent” that the council supports first prioritizing Phase 1 and 2 involving Little Cottonwood Canyon, that are outlined in the impact statement. Those phases don’t include the gondola. 

Phase 1 of the project, to be completed between 2023-2032, would implement enhanced bus service, tolling, roadway improvements, and a mobility hub. Phase 2 would implement avalanche snow sheds and trail-head improvements between 2033-2042. It’s only Phase 3 of the project, to be completed between 2043-2050, that would include the gondola. 

This is also where I see the crux of the problem is; how can we ask people leaving outside of Salt Lake County (the prime beneficiary of the economic return from tourist activities in Alta and Snowbird) to pay for a gondola that will only benefit two for-profit ski resorts instead of being spent on addressing other issues benefiting the entire population of the state? 

While Snowbird is owned by John and David Cumming, Alta is owned by multiple parties, with the largest shares held by the Laughlin family (51%), the Quinney family (25%), and the Bass family (11%). These parties should should be the one paying for the Gondola, not the taxpayer living in Moab, St. George or me in Park City!

Protesting the proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola at the Thursday, May 25, 2023 meeting