Park City briefs joint councils on Sundance operations, emphasizes public safety and transit changes

Park City staff briefed Summit County and Park City councils on the operational plans for this year’s Sundance Film Festival, stressing public safety, revised transit operations and new drop‑and‑load rules.

Jenny Dears, Park City’s special events manager, told the joint session the festival will be "an 11 day in person festival this year" and said the city’s top priority is public safety: "The number 1 priority is public safety and we'll always carry that as our number 1 priority." She thanked county partners (sheriff's department, Park City Fire, Summit County Health, High Valley Transit and county special events) for coordination on traffic and safety planning.

Operational changes this year include extended transit hours (Dears said transit will run from about 05:30 a.m. until about 2:05 a.m.), a one‑way configuration on Park Avenue to keep transit lanes moving, and four designated drop‑and‑load locations with no drop‑and‑load allowed on Main Street. Park City will manage drop‑and‑load operations this year without Lyft as a sponsor and has arranged resort partnerships to open parking at Deer Valley and others after 5 p.m. to reduce congestion.

Dears said the city has undertaken extensive outreach — social media, mailers and coordination with county communications — to inform residents about changes. Councilors thanked staff for mitigation work and expressed appreciation for interagency coordination ahead of the festival.

The briefing was informational; councilors asked no follow‑up actions beyond thanks and acknowledgement. The councils then moved to schedule their next joint meeting and adjourn.