Park City Transportation Planning Manager Alfred Knotts says the city’s 2011 transportation master plan needs a fresh, new look. Enter Park City Forward, an effort by the city to update that master plan by prioritizing projects and strategies that address the needs of a growing community and a desire for eco-conscious transit options.
Park City’s Transportation Department initiated Park City Forward in Summer 2018 and has conducted surveys and workshops to gain insight from the public and other stakeholders. Knotts says the plan is to solidify the city’s vision for itself.
“This is not an Alfred plan, this is a community plan, too, and making sure that we’re reinforcing where we put our priorities,” Knotts said.
Park City Forward will prioritize funding for one-to-five-year projects as well as five-to-ten-year projects, and then larger projects in the 20-year range will be set aside in an unconstrained list—sort of the city’s wish list for transportation. Knotts says in the one-to-five-year plan, the city will focus on corridor projects to address its goal of reducing traffic there by 25% by 2030. That includes beginning construction this summer on the pedestrian tunnel under S.R. 248 between Park City High School and its seminary building as well as increasing transit service.
In the city’s 30-year plan, residents and visitors could potentially bypass the car traffic altogether and get around town through the air. Knotts says aerial connections could be a viable option for the city, though funding for something like that is on the backburner.
“It’s a true multimodal plan, so we want to look at every opportunity we can when it comes to different technology," Knotts said. "That’s why it’s in the unconstrained section of the document and not tying up fiscal resources that could be allocated towards near-term projects.”
The Park City Forward final plan is expected to be released in Fall 2019. Residents who are interested in the city’s transportation plans can learn more about them—and provide input on them—at Park City’s Spring Projects Open House, Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Park City Library.
