The nine-member committee includes Park City officials, business owners and residents.
They’ve held several meetings this year, and topics include several pie in the sky concepts, including a gondola connecting Main Street to Deer Valley Resort, housing and commercial development on Swede Alley, and a new town plaza where the post office now stands.
Park City Council member Ryan Dickey emphasized that the high-level ideas are just talking points, and the city is far from any final decision.
“I think this is really born of an effort over multiple years to engage on a visioning process for Main Street and the downtown core to say, ‘where do we want to be in the next 10 to 50 years?’” Dickey said. “From the perspective of maintaining our historic character, but also looking at infrastructure improvements and property and economic vibrancy and vitality of the neighborhood.”
As new developments pop up at Deer Valley and Canyons Village continues to add amenities, Park City wants Main Street to remain a top destination for visitors and their dollars.
Dickey says part of that is making Main Street more walkable. The committee is exploring designs including a one-way street and curbless sidewalks. But not everyone is on board, including Gallery MAR owner and committee member Maren Mullin.
“I have spoken with several business owners on the street and none of them have been pro-pedestrianization,” Mullin said. “We’re not at a consensus on that yet.”
Dickey says the committee has also briefly discussed the idea of a gondola connecting the Brew Pub lot at the top of Main Street to Deer Valley’s Snow Park base.
“That’s where our number one customer comes from, is Deer Valley,” Dickey said. “If you have a reimagined street experience, and we have another resort connection at the bottom of the street, all of a sudden you’re talking about something that’s pretty vibrant.”
Part of a reimagined street design could include a new town plaza replacing the post office on Main Street, which dates back to 1921. The committee has discussed the potential for a new gathering area in front of City Hall, but Mullin expressed hesitation about removing the post office.
“We cannot throw that baby out with the bathwater, that is a sacred cow,” Mullin said. “As we’re talking as a group, it’s our opinion that we want to keep the post office in the downtown area.”
Dickey says a big topic of discussion has been Main Street’s parallel sidestreet, Swede Alley, which has a lot of city-owned property, including the China Bridge garage and Bob Wells Plaza.
He says there’s potential to replace the existing structures with hotels and commercial space, moving the parking underground.
“If you can bring people into that core, then you drive funding sources for the type of big improvements we’re talking about,” Dickey said. “But you also bring year-round vibrancy. You bring the ability to get a cup of coffee on Main Street in April before eight in the morning. You bring a lot of the things that locals want to see on Main Street.”
The committee has also discussed building housing on the Sandridge lots, which overlook Main Street along Marsac Avenue.
Park City plans to host an open house in October to share more details and gather input from residents.
More information about the committee’s discussions and rendering of the Main Street development ideas can be found here.
