Alta Ski Area, UT, General Manager Pens “Red Snake Letter” to UDOT to Offer True Solution for Congestion in Little Cottonwood Canyon

If you pay attention to snow industry news, there is no doubt you are aware of the saga of the traffic issues on State Route 210 in Utah leading to Snowbird and Alta Ski Area. On weekends and powder days, the traffic can delay travelers for hours, especially if the road is closed for avalanche danger and mitigation.

To address the issues, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has been working on a solution for some time. In August of 2022, it officially recommended a solution that included a seven-mile gondola, enhanced bus system, and tolling. This was adopted after an intensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was conducted to determine the best way to enhance transportation in the canyon.

However, Alta Ski Area General Manager, Mike Maughan, says UDOT’s plan ultimately will not reduce congestion. To make his voice heard, he wrote a response to the proposed solution titled “Red Snake Letter,” a nod to the visual of a long string of bumper-to-bumper cars with brake lights trying to navigate the canyon on a busy day. In the letter he highlights pain points that UDOT does not address, as well as offers solutions. It is signed by Maughan along with the Alta Town Council and a dozen other Alta based businesses. A premise of the letter states that with the gondola still years away from being a reality, the current plan does little to alleviate problems now.

Being located further up the canyon, Alta is affected by the congestion to a greater extent than Snowbird. The biggest focus of the letter is on how traffic leaving Alta to get back down the canyon can be gridlocked and trap guests for hours until the canyon clears out. Guests at Snowbird have “first dibs” on accessing State Route 210 to head down the canyon while Alta guests essentially have to wait their turn. Oftentimes after waiting for hours to leave, Alta visitors will drive past Snowbird to see the parking lots nearly empty. This has led to unhappy guests, employees quitting, along with safety concerns with limited emergency services, snow removal accessibility, and public transportation. UDOT did not address any of this in the EIS.

Alta is suggesting to UDOT a number of solutions including:

1. Providing equitable merging of traffic exiting Snowbird and Alta by making road modifications between Snowbird Entries 1 and 4 and/or managing traffic merging via metering lights onto State Route 210 between Snowbird Entries 1 and 4 to eliminate preferential merging. Even when the roads are good, during peak times, between nine and 25 cars coming from Snowbird merge onto the highway for every two cars from Alta. A barrier installed at Snowbird Entry 1, which gives vehicles leaving Snowbird a runway of 1,200 feet down the canyon before they must merge, has been nicknamed the “Snowbird Priority Merge Lane.” It allows traffic exiting Snowbird from Entry 1 to pass up to 50 vehicles before merging into traffic. Additionally, up to 200 cars are allowed to park along the road between Entries 1 and 4. These cars often perform an illegal three-point U-turn and fail to yield to oncoming vehicles. This impedes the flow of traffic and often creates a stop that ripples up the line of traffic exiting Alta.
2. Keeping the Mainline (the road between Snowbird Entry 4 and the town of Alta) open for traffic exiting the Town of Alta during peak downhill travel times by eliminating or mitigating the public safety risk, primarily avalanche danger. When the primary route from the resort is closed and traffic leaves the canyon, it is redirected onto the bypass road through Snowbird. As many as 500 vehicles from Snowbird will merge between every two cars coming from Alta.
3. More effectively keeping vehicles without proper traction devices out of Little Cottonwood Canyon and off of State Route 210 when conditions warrant traction devices. UDOT already has a traction program in place where certain tire and automotive shops fit vehicles with a sticker proving they have tires and tread that comply with the law. During a storm, UDOT will require only cars with a sticker on the road. The suggestion is to require all passenger vehicles using Little Cottonwood Canyon to have a UDOT traction-approved sticker on any day that snow is forecasted to occur during the next 12 hours.

About a year ago, Alta discussed these concerns with UDOT, and they were told it would be looked into too. However, nothing has been done, which prompted Maughan to write the letter and publish it publicly.

The issues have created a tenuous relationship between Alta and Snowbird, with Alta being frustrated with Snowbird not being subject to the same issues and refusing to require parking reservations. Snowbird blames the afternoon spike in traffic after 1 p.m. when Alta’s reservation requirements are lifted, claiming it brings more cars into the canyon later in the day.

Snowbird is also a big proponent of the gondola, and it even purchased a five-acre parcel of land at the base of the canyon that could be sold at cost or donated to become the gondola’s base station. Alta Ski Area doesn’t necessarily oppose the gondola, but the Alta town council has formally voted to oppose it. Either way, Alta doesn’t see it solving the issues at hand.

There is still a lot of work and cooperation that needs to be done to solve the traffic problem in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Solutions will take time, but many are worried that no matter what happens, the future could be full of red snakes.

Read the full “Red Snake Letter” here with all the issues and proposed solutions.