Brighton Resort, UT, to Require Paid Parking Reservations This Winter

Following the footsteps of neighboring resort Park City, Brighton Resort will require paid parking reservations beginning in the 2023-2024 season. Reservations will have a base rate of $20 for all lots with a $25 dollar price tag on holidays. 

Like Park City, Brighton will require reservations for every day of the year, but will not charge for parking after 1 pm. Similarly, payment can be avoided by carpooling with three or more people — a convenient one person less than is required to nix payment at Park City. Brighton season passholders will not be required to pay for parking. 

This all comes as part of a growing effort by ski resorts to mitigate traffic. According to Park City, 60% of reservations avoided payment via carpooling in the first year of implementing paid parking. Brighton is the next Utah resort to follow suit as they try to decongest Big Cottonwood Canyon, which saw hours-long car lines regularly throughout last season. 

Further in the movement to reduce traffic, Vail announced that paid parking will be required in its three Tahoe resorts of Kirkwood, Northstar, and Heavenly. Additionally, the Utah Department of Transportation has deliberated a fee to enter next-door Little Cottonwood Canyon, costing between $25 and $30 no matter the result of the heated LCC Gondola Proposal. 

In spite of the parking adjustments so far proving to reduce traffic, there is still some local dissent toward the movement. Opponents of the paid reservation system believe that this tax affects locals substantially more than tourists and that public transportation needs to be improved to compensate for the burden. However, even those who oppose have said they see the value in reducing traffic.