At its meeting Aug. 14, the Park City Council is scheduled to discuss the ongoing study about the future of state Route 248.
City officials are considering several alternatives including dedicated bus lanes, light rail and automated guideway transit, similar to a monorail. The city is also exploring transit along the Rail Trail.
Public feedback collected at open houses and online suggest support for bus rapid transit along the existing state Route 248 corridor, rather than the Rail Trail, according to a staff report.
An evaluation using national transit criteria and other metrics found transit on the existing corridor outperforms options for the Rail Trail, which would have legal and environmental complications.
The technical analysis also found that bus rapid transit is the highest performing option due to factors such as on-time performance and a shorter construction timeline, the report says.
The council will be asked Thursday to decide how they want to move forward. The next phase of the study will involve a feasibility analysis and conceptual designs.
Later in the meeting, the council will discuss options for future park and ride facilities in the Quinn’s Junction area.
Park City already has a park and ride site in Richardson Flat, which provides transit access into Old Town and the ski resorts.
But the council is also considering future development on the vacant Gordo property, which rests along state Route 248 across from Richardson Flat Road.
Park City Manager Matt Dias said the council is looking at several options.
“Do we continue to elevate the level of service at the Richardson Flat location, or do we go all in on a new location, like the Gordo property that we’ve talked about on [state Route] 248 for many years? Or do we even have sort of a two location scenario where… Gordo is an everyday express level service — some structured facility — and Richardson Flat is overflow,” Dias said.
Dias said he doesn’t expect the council to reach a final decision about the matter Thursday.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 4:25 p.m. at City Hall following a closed session.
The agenda and a link to attend virtually can be found here.
Park City Municipal is a financial supporter of KPCW.
