Will The Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT, Gondola Ever Get Built?

In 2020, the Utah Department of Transportation announced three possible strategies to help reduce traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The proposed solutions were a cog railway or a gondola to shuttle visitors to ski resorts Alta and Snowbird or a new and improved bus system to shuttle more skiers up the canyon. The gondola was the option that was chosen as the best possible solution to the traffic congestion. However, the project has been stalling for the last five years, and the opposition is still not allowing the project to move forward as planned.

This project, which is planned to be constructed in three phases and is estimated to cost over $729 million, has been the source of heated debates for over a decade. Many oppose it for reasons such as environmental concerns, disrupting canyon access for non-resort patrons, and creating traffic issues at the base of the canyon. The gondola would be the longest in the world and comes with an estimated $729 million price tag at Utah taxpayers’ expense.

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Opposition to the proposed gondola has existed from the very beginning. Currently, the Granite Oaks Homeowners Association has filed a lawsuit against UDOT. Their suit joins three separate challenges filed earlier by Friends of Alta and the Canyon Guard, Save Our Canyons, Salt Lake City, Sandy City, and the Metropolitan Water District, which were all combined into one. That suit should be heard in court later this spring or early summer.

The gondola is the solution to the nightmare traffic congestion that has plagued the canyon by skiers and snowboarders headed up the mountain to hit the slopes. Maxwell Morrill owns Utah Adventures Unlimited, which features experiential education and adventures like The Winter School in Utah. “[Traffic] is an absolute nightmare, with 3-4 hour travel times on the way up and 2-3 hour travel down times in the canyon this winter, especially on weekends and busy holidays,” Morrill said in an interview with SnowBrains. “It makes it difficult for business owners like us to operate on our public lands, especially on weekends and holidays.” The constant avalanche closures in the morning only add to the congestion and frustration of dealing with those long delays. One of the proposed plans was for persons traveling to the mountains to use the transit center and the buses to mitigate traffic congestion. However, due to the ongoing lawsuits, Utah’s Department of Transportation has stopped traffic mitigation efforts, which include tolls and increased bus services.

The gondola situation in Little Cottonwood and the lawsuits, petitions, and opposition it has faced come as no surprise. Regardless of location, industry, or business platform, there is always opposition to anything funded with taxpayer money. Other industries, such as professional sports teams, have faced opposition as well when proposing to build new stadiums across the country. In the end, these stadiums are usually built, or the teams threaten to leave the city and relocate if they aren’t. Stadiums provide a lot of revenue to sports franchises, just like a gondola would provide revenue to ski areas. The only difference is that relocating a sports franchise is possible when moving a ski area isn’t.

Of course, money is not the only factor or issue at play. Many people value the environment and the health of our planet. Ensuring the gondola project complies with environmental regulations while keeping the area’s natural beauty intact is key. Unlike sports stadiums, ski resorts are located in areas and regions that need to be preserved and have delicate ecological systems. Adding roads or any other infrastructure can greatly affect the local environment. In the end, a compromise between UDOT, the ski resorts, and the community must be met if the gondola is ever to be built. Would this kind of project gain full community support if adjustments were made to address environmental concerns? Or would there always be opposition, especially when public funds are involved? Let us know in the comments below.