Park City details winter peak-day traffic plan: barricades, reduced peak calendar and pilot chokepoint fixes

Park City traffic operations staff presented a plan on Oct. 10 to reduce congestion on the busiest winter days by shrinking the peak-day calendar, protecting neighborhoods and piloting temporary traffic measures at known chokepoints.

Andrew Latham, traffic operations manager for Park City Municipal, said the city reduced its peak-day calendar from 93 days last season to 66 days this year so it can concentrate staffing and enforcement on truly busy dates. He said Park City will keep barricades and reroutes in place from the start of ski season (planned Nov. 17) through the season to protect residential neighborhoods around Park City Mountain and Mountain Village.

"We actually... decided this year that we would close and reroute beginning with the opening of the ski season on November 17, so the barricades and the reroute will be in place on November 17 and it will remain through the entire ski season," Latham said. The city plans to retain paid reserve parking and to maintain circulation plans developed with Park City Mountain.

Latham identified two critical choke points where temporary measures could improve flow: the merge at Bonanza Drive/Kearns Boulevard/Sidewinder Drive and the Bonanza Drive/Deer Valley Drive intersection. Proposed fixes include shifting merge lanes, creating a right-trap lane to eliminate weaving, prohibiting certain left turns during peak hours, and deploying multiple-message boards and signage to direct traffic to Park Avenue. He emphasized the need for Utah Department of Transportation approval for measures on state rights-of-way and noted temporary measures may be infeasible during snow events.

Park City plans pilot days in December to test changes and will monitor and scrap measures that do not perform. Council members responded with detailed operational questions and offered to follow up as the city refines implementation.