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Show Wednesday, April 14, 1976 Page 3 Sixth in a Series University of Utah MQO DO Garn Challenges Bankers On Consumer Costs ntPark com?' Students Begin Of Main St. Chair How';L We Wa CltyTo'B A group of University of Utah students have embarked em-barked on an information gathering mission which could have a direct bearing on the future of the proposed Main Street chair lift. ; At the instigation of Park ! City realtor Harrv Reed and . under "thS Supervision of!!, I TO(wJaneeiHiU v and Brr"f.ynn - i Rockwood, the students are . investigating various aspects , of the lift as part of their ; "Feasibility Studies in Commercial Recreation" class. v - ; ' , AREAS "The students will address themselves .to three major areas of concern' snow depth analysis, traffic impact and public support. - Work has been initated and will continue con-tinue in all three areas. SNOW ' The snow depth analysis will make comparisons between the Quittin' Time run area, which would lie beneath the lift, and the existing Payday run. Measurements taken at : various points along each run will demonstrate the quantity of snow and the quality and duration of skiing on both. , TRAFFIC By "collecting data on the distribution of. transient beds in Park City, traffic patterns and parking availability, the lift's potential impact on local traffic will be assessed. SUPPORT ; Public support for the lift will be determined by means of a questionaire and individual in-dividual polling. The students will solicit responses from local merchants, residents and visitors to Park City, Visitors will be contacted on Saturday, April 17. They will be handed questionaires nw Mr -r I (J IV 'rt Ml .4 I'i. W r iMU)i (JM1 UTS fiMl 1 5 Proposed Lift as they board the gondola and will be asked to complete them during the 22-minute ride to the top of the mountain, moun-tain, the forms will be collected at the summit. - On Friday, April 23, Park City residents will be polled at the post( office. Students (. " will' cond'qjmjnrom " 4 to ioa.m.'and from 3:30 to S p.m. Merchants will be surveyed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on. Tuesday, April 27. ROUTE As presently conceived, the Main Street lift (or China Bridge lift, as has been suggested) would run from Swede Alley over Main Street along Fourth Street and up the mountain. ADVANTAGES When interviewed by the Newspaper, neither Reed nor realtor Bill Coleman, who is the other prime mover behind the project, were reluctant to list what they feel to be the benefits such a lift would provide. , TRAFFIC A reduction , in traffic between the Main Street area and the Resort was the first advantage cited by the two. They noted that the lift would not only increase the flow of automobiles but would also diminish demands on the city's no-fare transportayion system during . peak hours thus saving the city money. The lift would also alleviate parking congestion at . the Resort they said. MAIN STREET " As for Main Street itself, the duo points to an obvious increase in foot traffic generated by the lift. "The lift would guarantee Main Street's future as a growing commercial area," Coleman stated. Reed said the lift would ..urn Location give skiers an alternative to the eating facilities at the Resort by enabling them to have lunch at Main Street restaurants with no iri-convience. iri-convience. . . Lodging in the Main Street area would also benefit, they said. "The lift would make lodging facilities in the older part of town competitive with those near the Resort because they too would be near a lift," Reed said. "In effect, it would mean all lodging in Park City would be near a lift. This in turn would help to sell the town as a whole." PROPERTY ANDACCESS An increase in the property values in the upper part of the city was also marked as a big plus. Still another advantage listed by Reed and Coleman would be "quick access" to the mountain. " ' ' ' "Not only would the lift open up a new and excellent ski terrain in . the Quittin' Time area, but combined with the lift to be built hear the Resort base facilities, it will provide quick access to every part of ihe mountain." Reed also noted a psychological advantage. He said the lift, would tie the Resort and the town together and erode the image of two serarate entities. "This lift would connect the town and the Resort and it would open up, for the first time, a ski area which provides an excellent view of the downtown area," Reed said." Coleman pointed to summer uses also. .. He said the lift would not only offer as panaromic view, but that'it could be used for ' "tour by air'' of the historic part of town. .- - . In addition, the lift would be ' a less expensive alternative alter-native to the gondola for transporting hikers up the Q0 9QB mountain. DISADVANTAGES When questioned as to disadvantages the lift m ight create, Reed mentioned the possible need for a protective net to span Main Street ; directly under the lift.. ; "We will have to come ,up, with an attractive . way (J protecting vehicular and foot1' traffic," Coleman added. He then suggested that a Wood trestle might be the answer. Coleman also posed the possibility of having to close Fourth Street to automobile traffic and having it used solely by pedestrians. FINANCING Financing of the estimated $3000,000 project, Coleman said, could come by means of a. conventional loan guaranteed by the Small' Business Administration. Repayment of the loan could be accomplished by a formula based on a portion of the lift ticket revenues with money also coming from people who will benefit from increased business and-or property values. "OVERWHELMED" "We have had no real . complaints concerning the lift," Coleman remarked. He said the Chamber of Commerce, the Main Street Association, and the Lodging Association have officially endorsed the project while both the city council and the planning commission have voiced conceptual approval "I'm overwhelmed by the positive responses we've received . form ' Park City government and business organizations, from lending institutions and especially from the Park City Ski Corporation," Coleman said. "And the help we're receiving from the University of Utah and private citizens is extremely encouraging." 2T SSSS CtoQQEHDEBn i Washington.D.C. - Senator Jake Garn last week challenged a segment of the Nation's banking community to inform their employees and customers of how much consumer legislation ' is costing consumers. Speaking before the American Banking Association National Credit Conference in Miami, Senator Garn said,"Every segment of the economy -bankers, retailers and farmers far-mers - is having more regulations imposed on it in the name of consumerism by the government. The public has no idea of what all this consumer legislation is costing. It is the responsibility respon-sibility of the businessmen ,to let people know what is happening by conducting educational senunars with an emphasis on consumerism, talking to people who do not understand the free terprise system and en- ex- ploring every available resource to better inform the public. People must decide what the free enterprise system means to them, learn Unmake a cost benefit analysis by themselves and start judging public officials on the basis of how they vote. "The only way to change the philosophy that government govern-ment can do it better than the private sector is to change the people who are voting that way. This can only be done by becoming involved in political activity at the grass roots level. Every political candidate is talking about the ureaucfacrind how'-i) should be cut down. Unfor- luiidiciy, una is , musuy rhetoric. The same people turn around, go back to Washington and pass more laws, i thus adding more layers to the bureaucracy. "Emergency acts are are introduced every day in the Congress of the , United States. Maybe the emergencies wouldn't be so great if Congress . would adjourn for. the rest of the year and come back next January. There is no critical legislation that needs to be passed by Congress this year, except the appropriations to run the necessary functions of government. . , "You cannot overcome Congress by, yourself. If you want ' government over-regulation over-regulation stopped, you 'must work to stop it for everyone. People must bah together, learn about the issues and take the necessary action to put government back in their hands." p; Si3O-0:3p I This week, in The Newspaper's series of articles ar-ticles investigating the growth planned for Park City, local businessman and economics professor Jim Doilney offers his opinions concerning the communities Doilney received his doctorate in economics from the University of Maryland where he taught courses in "Urban Economics." He moved to Park City two years ago to start, "The Corner Store" delicatessen with his brother Michael. Presently, he is operating Potato John's Video Bar along with teaching part time at the University of Utah.' THE QUESTION When conironting a par- jtiMy perplexing problem it usuallyF proves helpful to begin by asking the one question that clearly penetrates to the very , essence of the dilemma. If this approach were to be. used in dealing with- the growth related problems currently facing, the city, according to Doilney, the $64 question would be, "How large do we want Park City to become?" TWO FACTORS When asking ourselves how large we want Park City to become Doilney said, "Two facotrs that should be considered con-sidered are what would be ! fair to the people who are already here and what would you personally like to see happen in terms of growth?" When examining these factors , the doctor of economics suggested the services that will be offered as the result of Park 11 F - "' & 4-)) V"4 ' Dr. James Doilney City's growth should also be taken into consideration, For, example, , Doilney said, "Personally, I would like to know how many more-people' more-people' would be needed to support a stronger school system." "With regards to desired services, the Potato John's proprieter pointed out, "Park . City is very lucky. Because of its proximity to Salt Lake City it doesn't have to worry about being large enough to support all of the services people will want to have. If we were like Jackson Hole, up in the middle of nowhere, we would have to talk about a city of 40 to 50 thousand in order to' provide all of the services people would be desiring. ' ,lrf,irnVi'VI-W;V,'iio WN ZONING IMMORAL Concerning possible attempts at-tempts by the city to limit growth Doilney stated, "What people think they want ' in terms of growth and what ' can be acheived fairly are two different things. Personally, Per-sonally, I feel down zoning is immoral when you take into consideration that you change the allowable Uses' of land people have already invested in. It's like chaneine the rules of the game once it has started." TRIPLE THE SIZE Offering his opinion as to how large he would like Park City, to become., the economics professor said, "I would like to see it a little larger. I am not opposed to tripiling the size of the town or to the plans that have recently been proposed. 5HWWnr However, if Park City grew to five times its present size I'd be unhappy." As for controlling growth, Doilney said, "Park City can either increase in size or in quality. One way to insure that the emphasis is on quality would be to put a ceiling on the amount of growth allowed. For example, if we established a ceiling that would be reached . by 1984 the only growth after that time would be in quality." WHY PEOPLE COME . "Basically, people have come to Park City to make money and-or because of the recreational amenities the area offers. Obviously, there are mnerent comDinauons andridegreeaiofcthesetwo interests but,v essentially, that is what I see as Park City's attraction. "If someone has come, to Park City solely to make money I feel the city should be very careful not to accomodate them by revising the ordinances," he added. IT WILL TAKE SOME GUTS When considering some of the difficult decisions that lie ahead for the city, Doilney. said, "It is going to take some ' courage on the part of city officials to take a good look at all the applications and then to decide which ones will be good for the community. I once heard Mary Lehmer (ex-councilwoman) say, 'Anybody can say no to someone you don' know but it takes a lot of guts to say no. to a friend or to someone you see every day,' I think that is something city officials are going to have to live with." |