The regional planning organization mapped out the most dangerous roads across Summit, Wasatch and Utah counties using that last five years of crash data.
In Park City, most crashes happen along Kearns Boulevard, but the more severe crashes happen at Marsac Avenue and Deer Valley Drive.
In the Snyderville Basin, crashes are concentrated at state Route 224 and Ute Boulevard, and Landmark Drive is particularly bad for pedestrians.
Downtown Coalville has the most dangerous roads in North Summit County. And 10% of roads in the region have 75% of the severe injury or fatality crashes, including West Hoytsville Road to the south and Echo Dam Road north of town.
It’s a similar story in South Summit, where Kamas’ Main Street has the most crashes, especially entering and exiting town. MAG also saw spikes in severe crashes on state Route 32 in Peoa.
MAG Senior Planner Robert Allen said consultants compared the hotspots to countermeasures recommended by the Federal Highway Administration.
“So it was kind of, take their list of countermeasures and see what works best in specific locations that we've looked at,” Allen said, “in addition to working with UDOT and local communities to say, ‘Does everybody agree this would be, or the set of countermeasures, would be the correct one in this situation?’”
The Kimball Junction open house was the first in a series of open houses across Summit, Wasatch and Utah counties where MAG asks residents about ways to make area roads safer.
Relatively few locals participated in MAG’s survey about when and why they feel unsafe on the roads. Of the nearly 800,000 residents of Summit, Wasatch and Utah counties, 433 responded.
Still, one remedy was clear: 97% of respondents said increased enforcement would make them feel safer. About half reported feeling unsafe on roads now.
Angie Kell and her husband were some of the only people at the open house Tuesday who weren’t county staff or candidates for elected office. They’re avid cyclists from Glenwild—they also drive like everyone else—and they agreed speeders should face consequences.
“Predominant amongst them are people commuting, hurrying up to get to work, tourists who don't know any better, that ‘this is our town, please slow down,’” Kell said after the event.
When MAG finalizes a list of safety improvements, local government leaders can then apply for federal grants to fund changes on the ground.
Head to mountainlandsafestreets.org for more information and to see when MAG is holding an open house near you.
