Deer Valley resident Allison Keenan is one of the cofounders of Protect the Loop, an organized group of neighbors focused on ensuring responsible development of the Snow Park base.
She said the primary concern with Deer Valley’s current proposal is the amount of increased traffic it’ll bring to an area some feel is already too congested during peak times.
“Most of the time during the ski season — Friday, Saturday, Sunday — most residents don’t plan to leave their houses between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.,” Keenan said. “Residents are concerned.”
Deer Valley conducted a transportation study that found the project will result in an additional 3,500 cars to Snow Park daily.
Protect the Loop believes those traffic figures are an undercount and the study is insufficient. The group called for a new independent traffic analysis and proposed an alternative circulation plan for Snow Park at the June 15 Park City Council meeting.
Deer Valley’s plans require the city to give away a portion of Deer Valley Drive, thereby killing the loop road that has been there for decades.
The resort wants the city to do that so it can construct a ski-in ski-out village where the road and adjoining parking lots currently sit.
Protect The Loop communications consultant Angela Moschetta proposed undergrounding a portion of Deer Valley Drive between Royal Street and the base in order to preserve the loop.
“It essentially gives Deer Valley everything that they want in terms of that right-of-way vacation, but it addresses a lot of resident concerns and community concerns regarding circulation and traffic,” she said.
Another key difference in the alternative plan is the expanded use of microtransit, both on-demand and on fixed routes. Microtransit is a free ride-hailing service.
“Those large city and county buses that we often see generally empty, would be taken out of the equation beyond the Old Town Transit Center,” Moschetta said. “After the Old Town Transit Center, which all transit buses pass through anyway, everything would instead be serviced by a form of microtransit.”
Protect The Loop’s alternate proposal was informed by community surveys which found that many people who aren't open to taking large buses are open to smaller microtransit shuttles as a preferred option to visit the resort. Additionally HOA engagement found that expanding microtransit could efficiently service nearby residents who lack access to existing bus routes and are forced to drive to the resort.
The alternative proposal requires Deer Valley’s investment in direct shuttle service from the Richardson Flat park and ride.
“What we’re proposing really is a public-private partnership," Moschetta said. "There would no longer be Deer Valley’s independent shuttle service that HOAs have to sign on for. And there would no longer be Park City Municipal’s separate microtransit. Together, they would figure out a way to combine the two and smartly service everything after the transit center.”
Comparatively, Deer Valley has proposed building a new sheltered transit center on Doe Pass Road, which would become the new entryway to the resort under their plan.
During public comment at city meetings, many people have expressed opposition to Deer Valley’s plans, but not everyone.
“Essentially the loop is being realigned, it’s really not protect the loop, it’s just a realignment of the loop,” Park City resident Lance Peto said at the most recent meeting. “The alternate plan that Protect The Loop has proposed in terminating buses on Main Street really doesn’t benefit the public that are coming in and want to get into Deer Valley from different locations. I think the expansion of the Snow Park shuttle would be a potential compromise.”
Protect The Loop met with city officials and staff to detail the alternative proposal. They have repeatedly requested a meeting with Deer Valley Resort President Todd Bennett, but that hasn’t been granted.
In a statement to KPCW, a Deer Valley spokesperson said the resort’s development team has met with hundreds of community members both in private meetings and during the community open house in December, including meeting with associates from Protect the Loop. They added the Deer Valley development team is committed to further meetings with residents and Protect The Loop.
Moschetta confirmed past meetings with Alterra Director of Development Jake Romney and Deer Valley Vice President of Resort Planning Hannah Tyler. Romney recently left the company, according to a Deer Valley spokesperson.
The Park City Council is next scheduled to review Deer Valley’s proposal Aug. 29.
