Mountain Accord is a plan to connect Salt Lake Airport, Sandy, Cottonwood Canyons, and Park City with rails, tunnels, and/or aerial tramways. Mountain Accord held an Open House meeting on February 24 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. to discuss their vision. The meeting attracted 350 concerned citizens. The meeting had to be moved from the Lecture Hall to the Eccles Center. The proposals so far seem decent, but when closer examined seem to benefit the Wasatch Front more than the Back, whose decisions are being made mainly by people outside Summit County.
The Mountain Accord plan, if carried out, will affect Park City’s transportation, environment, and economy alike. 22 representatives will vote on decision for the Blueprint on April 6, only three of them representing the Wasatch Back.
Fans of Mountain Accord argue that traffic will be reduced, making air cleaner, which is a huge issue in Salt Lake City. Mountain Accord focuses on the transportation of tourists and visitors through the Salt Lake Valley to the resorts and fails to address the possibly larger issue of commuter and residents’ traffic. The blueprints show Mountain Accord creating up to 25,000 acres of wilderness and the possible expansion of existing resorts.
Mountain Accord may make visitors who would otherwise stay in Park City hotels, eat at Park City restaurants, and put money into the Park City economy more likely to take the quick transportation from where they stay in Salt Lake City to the resorts here, becoming day visitors rather than having their “home base” for the trip in Park City.
The meeting on Tuesday was at the Eccles Center. It was open to the public and was welcome input on the blueprints from Summit County residents. Similar meetings will be held in Salt Lake County and online. After comments made at these meetings are taken into account, a finalized version of the blueprints will be created and voted on April 6. It will also be reviewed by the National Environmental Policy Act.
You can find out more about Mountain Accord at http://mountainaccord.com/ and submit ideas online by March 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment