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Show "co C Twenty-Five Cents " H Volume Five Thursday, November 29, 1 979 lessee SAM J yf 1 1 ; 1 . - I ! i . It 1 7 " Yr i i v 4. J i The snow was limited over the Thanksgiving holiday but the enthusiasm of the skiers wasn't. Some Ski Runs Were Open But Some Businesses Weren't Thanksgiving in Park City was not quite the cold turkey some thought it would be because of the lack of early visitor-attracting snow. In fact, most lodges reported over 75 percent occupancy with few cancellations, despite the limited resort skiing. Assistant resort marketing director Laura Thomas commented Monday that although the resort limited skiers to 500 a day, there were few complaints because most visitors were informed in advance. There also were few complaints concerning the $11 price tag for the privilege of skiing the few open runs. "For the most part, everyone seemed to be satisfied during their stay here," Thomas commented. "Both the resort and the lodges told visitors the skiing was not the greatest, and gave them 'he option of cancelling. Few did. "We couldn't handle a thpusand .skiers on the mountain because of the lack of snow" Thomas continued, "and Page 5 The Park High basteetbai team lost their first three outings but they were moral victories compared to last season. r .1 f 1 T f i - I " ' we set the day pass price high to offset the cost of running the resort with so few skiers using it. And the fact that there were a maximum number of skiers on the mountain every day meant they wanted to ski badly enough to pay it. "One thing I found disgruntling was that many shops and restaurants were closed over the holiday," Thomas said. "My feeling is, if the resort is ready, the town should be ready. What if we had a last minute snowfall and the resort opened for full operation? If no one was prepared, what kind of business would the town have done?" Thomas' observations were echoed by several other visitor handlers throughout the city. Newly-appointed director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Debby Travis, commented, "Now is the time for merchants to give thought to what they would've done over Thanksgiving if they were the visitors here. It just doesn't look good JjjV ,A I : VfP Til iii itf if nil Itffiil J fl jr. I ii for Park City to be closed up, even when it isn't jammed with people. I think people are going to have to realize that as resort merchants, they are going to have to work when others are on vacation." Moana's director of operations, Jim' McManus, noted that the 350 condominiums condo-miniums the corporation handles were about 75 percent occupied". "We called the people who had reservations through us and let them know exactly what the conditions were like here," McManus said. "And despite that, one group cancelled but about 1.000 people came anyway." McManus said problems were encountered en-countered when it was discovered no grocery store was scheduled to be open Thank-giving Day, with many visitors not checking in until after closing time Wednesday night. "We talked to Mt. Air Market, and George (Polychronis) agreed to Continued On Page 9 n nun nhi Jfff t rnii l in I -t i 1 $ I i (HI I II I I 15 l Page J J Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan is on the campaign trail and helping to blaze that trail is Park City Detective De-tective Rob Berry. Redevelopment Planners Alter Swede Alley Plan The Park City Redevelopment Steering Steer-ing Committee met Tuesday of last week in the Kimball Art Center and the major agenda items were traffic circulation and parking. Telling the committee that plans for these two items are "getting into the fine tuning stage," traffice consultant Wayne VanWagoner noted that angle parking originally proposed for Swede Alley has been abandoned and that the Swede Alley thoroughfare has been "straightened." VanWagoner, along with redevelopment redevelop-ment planners Muir-Chong Associates, .previously had proposed one-way t&f fic running south up Swede Alley and one-way traffic flowing north down Main Street. This plan now has been modified to permit two-way traffic in Swede Alley. He said the two-way plan for Swede Alley would reduce traffic on Main Street by eliminating use of the street by motorists who want to leave town on the new state highway. Under the old plan, the motorists would have to travel north on Main Street. VanWagoner also noted that additional addi-tional parking spaces have been picked up under the revised plan and that no bus stops will be allowed in Swede Alley. "This will facilitate traffic and we will coordinate the drop off points with the new Main Street directories." A pedestrian corridor is to be established along the west side of Swede Alley and the redevelopment agency will "encourage development of back entrances for Main Street businesses to stimulate the use of Swede Alley." The traffic consultant also noted that the planners have "some real concerns" regarding the Depot project. pro-ject. "There has been a piece-by-piece development of the project despite the Metro Marks First Thanksgiving week marked the first anniversary of Park City's municipally-operated public bus system recently christened The Mountain Metro and Transportation Director Jan Sylvester claims season number two will be the best public transportation transpor-tation year yet for the city. Overnight property managers reported re-ported last week's inaugural bus service for the first crowd of 1979-80 season skiers to be good. Expansion of the Mountain Metro fleet and new paint jobs on the buses should make it easier for December's tourists to spot and catch the city buses. "We have purchased two new 32-passenger buses.. ..and we are now in the process of choosing a painting design probably using a pearl grey background with a multi-colored design which should make us look more like a fleet," Sylvester said. The Mountain Metro currently headquarters head-quarters at the old city maintenance shed along with the remainder of the city vehicles, but the Metro will inherit all of the old shop when the city's garbage trucks and road crew vehicles move to the new city shop, nearing completion east of Mt. Air Market. That, said Sylvester, will facilitate repair and maintenance of the Metro fleet. These expansions will require additional ad-ditional personnel and tight scheduling schedul-ing of routes. Some 16 new drivers currently are being trained for the Metro. Timetable maps of bus routes master plan that was approved," VanWagoner said. "It is important that the city stay on top of it as it develops. "We want Main Street and the Depot project to balance," he added. "We don't want the north end of Suede Alley parking taken up by Depot customers. The Depot must provide adequate parking." VanWagoner then said Park City's parking problems are unique but (hat adequate space can be provided. "We believe Park City is very different from Salt Lake City in terms of parking demand," he said. "Hopefully, "Hope-fully, a study to be conducted this winter will show that the parking now planned will serve Main Street's needs." He noted that the split of daytime and nighttime visitors to Main Street businesses and increased use of the public transportation system should make the proposed Swede Alley scheme adequate. Ski Thefts Begin By Anne L. Burnelt Although the ski season has just begun, local police and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's department have reported a rash of ski thefts at most of the resorts. Salt Lake County Sheriff's department depart-ment Sargeant Jerry Hold said the department expects a repeat of last year's increase in ski thefts at most of the local resorts. He noted "ninety percent of the thefts occur due to owner's negligence. People stick their skis in the snow to go into the coffee shop to get a cup of coffee and when they come out they find their skis gone." Park City Police Officer Al Allen echoes Sgt. Holt's sentiments and will be distributed in about a week to resort lodgings and at City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Addition-ally, route timetables will be posted at various bus stops. Bus fare will be the same as last year: 25 cents for non-residents and free to those residents presenting resident bus passes (available free at City Hall ) . Each of four routes will be covered I-iMmimfflaMftniiiiiiiiijf y I ' ri nlrJ if. Transportation Director Jan Sylvester Generally dry weather through the weekend with sunny days and cold nights. Highs in the 20s, lows around 5. Adhering to the one-way plan for Main Street, the traffic consultant said, "Because of the new state highway, a two-way Main Street would be chaos." Then remarking on traffic and parking plans in general, he said, "I think we have made great strides." Signs Prior to the traffic and parking presentation, Richard Chong told the committee that two bids for city information and directional signage have been received. One was for $33,000 and the other came in at $37,000. Cheng noted that the original estimate for eight parking and restroom signs, five directional signs, three activity center signs and four information directory signs was $30,000. Chong also said working drawings for pedestrian walkways, which will connect Swede Alley with Main Street, should be completed this week. noted that last year at the Park City Resort he counted between 150 and 200 pairs of skis between the hours of noon and 2 p.m. simply stuck in the snow. One holiday the total reached 500 pairs and he stopped counting. "At several hundred dollars a pair, can you imagine the money involved?" involv-ed?" Allen asked. Both officers agree that skis should be locked up in facilities provided by the resorts. Officer Allen noted that Park City's facilities weren't enough to handle the demand and suggested some sort of ski check system. Even so, he noted a theft sometimes will happen when you least expect it. Continued On Page 9 Birthday uy a total of four or eight buses at any one time one bus per route during most of the day; two per route during peak hours. A minimum of three buses will be held in reserve unless needed. Buses will begin running at 7:45 a.m., seven davs a week and will make last runs at midnight Sunday through Thursday and 12:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. r- I'l if ' ' "" |