Pedestrian and public transit use drastically increases in Park City with the influx of visitors and resort workers during the busy winter season.
During special events and peak traffic periods, the city contracts with Kane Management to supply crossing guards to manage the Park Ave. crosswalk by the Park Ave. Condos.
Andrew Leatham, who works in Park City Municipal’s special events department, said foot traffic and bus use is much higher right now, and concentrated on Park Ave., where there are bus stops with connections throughout the Wasatch Back.
Leatham said that sometimes the heavy pedestrian traffic conflicts with resort rush hour in the afternoon; however, the city has a system to keep things efficient.
“What we’ve tasked these security guys with is that they control the buttons," Leatham said.
"So if there’s a bus loading out, we don’t get the first person off the bus pushing the button and activating the light. We wait until we get a larger group — minimize the number of crossings, and keep the traffic flowing as much as we can.”
When the crosswalk is activated, yellow lights will begin blinking, which signals to drivers to slow down. When the light turns red, drivers should be at a full stop for people to cross the street. If the light is blinking red, and it is clear no one is trying to cross, drivers may proceed after stopping.
The guards are scheduled to be there for two shifts each day: 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The city has just renewed a three contract with Kane, and people should expect crossing guards during peak season, which lasts through March.
A crossing guard named Gavin said that generally cars respect the stopping point. He added though that sometimes cars completely disregard the crosswalk and him in his fluorescent safety vest, and drive straight through.
