The Summit County Council on Wednesday was introduced to the Kimball Junction Neighborhood Master Plan.
They took some preliminary comments from members of the Blue Ribbon Committee, and the public, about a plan that is dealing with items like the pedestrian experience, the traffic going through the area, and the mix of uses.
County Council Chairman Roger Armstrong said when the Kimball Junction Task Force first convened, the group was aware of the problems in the area.
As Armstrong noted, it’s not very walkable; pedestrians take their lives in their hands walking across roads and parking lots; it’s a bit disjointed; and Kimball Junction is drawing from the broader Park City area more than it did 10 or 12 years ago.
One of the Blue Ribbon committee members Gordie Mills, a FoxPoint owner, said there are many great things about living in the area, but hassles too.
“There are 13,000 cars that come into Park City every morning," Mills said. "They pass through Kimball junction there not even stopping there. At night the same 13,000 pass out for the same reasons and it's a real obstacle to enjoy that.”
County Development Director Pat Putt said that about 3.1 million square feet has been approved at Kimball Junction. Roughly half of it has been built out.
Another Blue Ribbon member, Colin Hilton head of the Olympic Legacy Foundation, contrasted the situation there with what Park City faced at another major intersection, Quinn’s Junction.
“I guess my reflection harkens back to my days working for Park City municipal when we were planning Quinn's junction," Hilton continued. "The options out there were have things happen to you or shape it. I think the effort that has come out is the best that could have happened. Given a relatively blank slate at Quinn's Junction where the vision was health recreation and open space. That has developed, I think, as good as can be there. Here at Kimball Junction we don't have a blank slate, we have existing 55% built out with a lot to still come.”
Hilton said if they take a proactive approach, the Junction area could be something they can show off—perhaps at another Winter Olympics in about ten years.
Another problem cited is lack of wayfinding. Resident Bev Harrison noted, as an example, that pedestrians who venture across Highway 224 are not generally aware that there’s an underpass crossing from the Newpark area on the east, to tie onto the Millennium Trail on the west.
Finally, Armstrong talked about what it will take to get buy-in from the Utah Department of Transportation for any changes to 224. He said that UDOT is committed to projects for ten years into the future.
“In order for us to get on UDOT’s list with any kind of a proposal that we may have is going to require articulating some kind of proposal, but most importantly getting community buy-in," Armstrong explained. "That means that the County would have to be in, of course Park City would have to be in because of the connectivity, and they’d want the community to be in as well. So, we would have to show all three of those things.”
