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Show Viewpoints The A-19 Park Record. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, November 11-14, 2017 editorial UDOT hasn’t done enough to win support for I-80 noise wall A guest editorial Leaders should put more focus into pedestrian safety JENNIFER TERRY Park City On October 10, I witnessed a woman trying to cross the I-80 freeway’s 141 on-ramp on foot from Pinebrook to Jeremy. She was on the pedestrian passage sidewalk, was at the crosswalk, even pressed the button to cross safely but the lights for the pedestrian crossing didn’t work. She began to cross, a Porsche punched it, swerved around her, forcing her to step back in order not to get hit. Soon after I was in my car. I exited 141 off I-80 at Jeremy Ranch. I stopped at the bottom of the exit and was beginning to turn right onto Homestead Road. Two adult men on mountain bikes came flying across the crosswalk from my left. I almost hit them. My neighbor’s child was riding his bike from Jeremy Ranch Elementary. He was 8 years old. A car leaving the Jeremy Store gas station completely ran over his bike. The bike was stuck under the The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Angelique McNaughton Ben Ramsey Carolyn Webber Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Jay Meehan Teri Orr Amy Roberts Steve Phillips Tom Kelly Joe Lair Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Engagement Editor.........Kira Hoffelmeyer Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Office Manager ....................Tiffany Rivera Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Classifieds/Legals ............. Jennifer Lynch Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ......................... Lori Gull Jodi Hecker Erin Donnelly Lisa Curley Olivia Bergmann Digital Products ..................... Mike Boyko Manager Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production ...................... Nadia Dolzhenko Patrick Schulz Linda Sites car. The child was not hurt. He jumped out of the way before it was too late. Another JRES child was in a crosswalk near the Jeremy gas station and almost got hit by a car. He had his little hands on the hood of the car. This summer of 2018, the Jeremy Ranch/Pinebrook I-80 interchange will be overhauled into two large, fast moving, pill shaped roundabouts. It will allow even more cars to flow through with ease. The Summit County engineers have designed this to ease the traffic congestion from all the new high density housing that will be built in the Jeremy Ranch/Pinebrook area soon. There are five high density housing projects that I know of. That’s 1,500 more units in our neighborhood. I’m guessing that adds one to two cars per unit. Woodward recreational facility will bring in 300 more cars a day. Summit County is also expanding Jeremy’s park and ride and will put in another on Pinebrook’s side. When all the housing units and Woodward are built there will be no less than 3,600 extra cars moving through the new interchange. There are 5 schools in this area. There are a total of 1,942 students that, mostly, get driven to school. Why? Because it’s simply too dangerous for them to ride or walk to their schools. I’ve been talking with Summit County’s engineers for four years. I want safe pedestrian passage through the new interchange. I’ve been trying to raise awareness of the amount of density and the 1000’s of extra cars that will be coming soon. There is still no plan to allow safe pedestrian passage to seamlessly connect Jeremy to Pinebrook. We also have a shopping center, bike paths and three huge neighborhoods. All of it is disconnected. There is simply no way to reach any of it safely but by the use of a car. Park City and Summit County have always encouraged PC residents to take alternative transportation and yet there is little support in enabling us to cross the interchange safely. My worst fear is to see the interchange and the high density housing be built and there will be no chance of pedestrians or bike riders to access that area safely. Please, Summit County Council, don’t make us live and cope in this new high density hell you designed for us. Pinebrook, Summit Park and Jeremy Residents speak up. Demand safe passage for all the tremendous density, traffic and smog they’ve planned especially for you ... for the next 35 years of our future. controversy near Jeremy Ranch is making a racket. The Utah Department of Transportation is moving forward with plans to potentially build a barrier along westbound Interstate 80 between the Jeremy Ranch exit and Hidden Cove Road to mitigate freeway noise for nearby homeowners. But a large group of Summit County residents opposed to the barrier have made their voices heard loud and clear. They make a compelling argument. One of the primary concerns of the anti-barrier faction has nothing to do with sound. The problem is how the wall would affect another sense: Simply put, noise barriers are an eyesore. Doubtless, traffic noise must be grating to residents whose homes are backed up to the interstate. But in a community that pumps so many resources into maintaining the natural beauty that drew most of its residents here in the first place, the prospect of an unsightly sound barrier ranging in height between 7 and 17 feet is downright shrill. To its credit, UDOT offered something of a compromise after county residents lodged their displeasure with the proposal. Officials suggested the barrier could be constructed as a combination berm and sound wall, which they say would help it blend into the scenery and make it less unsightly. Maybe they’re right, but many residents are skeptical. It’s difficult to envision a design that wouldn’t take away some of the visual splendor offered to commuters traveling into or out of Summit County, as well as to residents of Jeremy Ranch and Pinebrook. Even more troublesome, though, is the process UDOT intends to use to make the final decision about whether the barrier will be constructed. It’s leaving the choice up to just two dozen Jeremy Ranch homeowners most affected by the interstate noise. For the wall to be built, just three-quarters of the homeowners must cast a vote, with 75 percent of them in favor of the barrier. The merits of a wall can be reasonably argued. UDOT’s assertions that the freeway noise warrants a barrier and that it wouldn’t be a visual blemish are fair, even if many disagree. So are the counterclaims put forth by an opposition group, Citizens Against the Wall, which says UDOT hasn’t offered enough proof to justify the project, and that the benefit for a few shouldn’t outweigh the interests of the many. But regardless of where residents stand on the debate, it’s inexplicable that a handful of residents could decide the fate of a project that would affect hundreds or thousands of people — especially one this controversial. If UDOT wants to build a wall, it should have to convince more than just a few people that it’s necessary. So far, it hasn’t. Until it does, the proposal for a barrier is just a bunch of noise. letters to the editor A thanks to candidates Editor: Now that the dust has settled and the election results have been announced, I wanted to write and thank my two friends Dana Williams and Andy Beerman for putting themselves out there and working so hard on their campaigns to represent us as our Mayor. Thank you both for being so willing to serve and help Park City deal with the many issues facing us during the upcoming years. Congratulations Andy! I now hope that Dana will continue to be a positive influence behind the scenes as he has been over the past four years since we need his leadership and activism as a citizen for checks & balances of our local government and outside influences. I have lived in Park City for 25 years and although we have more serious issues facing us than ever before, I have never been more excited about our future. Steve Joyce and Tim Henney will be great assets to Andy as they navigate our issues. Thanks again to all for being willing to serve our local community! Stanton D. Jones Park Meadows Residents should attend meeting Editor: There is going to be a public input meeting regarding the State of Utah’s desire to (maybe) finally do something about the traffic on the 248 corridor. If a few residents are not familiar with some of the options that have been thrown against the wall they are: 1) One of the States ideas is to build a bypass road where the Rail Trail goes through Prospector. This of course will impact not just the many residents in that neighborhood it will destroy the Rail Trail as we know it. 2) Another State idea is to do nothing; wow that has been their attitude forever 3) And of course the option to widen 248 between the new movie studio and past the High School where it becomes 4 lanes ( This has been my suggestion as it will only require widen- ing the road into the mountain by 8’6”). Along with this solution the removal of the school pedestrian crossing and its replacement with a sky bridge or tunnel is mandate. The stop signals used for this crossing can be moved West by 100 feet or so to the school parking lot exit and used by the school to stop traffic for short periods when school buses are leaving the lot. I believe it is important for all Parkites to make their voices heard and demand some reasonable action on this problem. Anyone who has had to come in or out of Park City during the morning or evening hours is aware of the gridlock, in particular around the school. The meeting will be held Tuesday November 14th between 5-7:30 pm at the Treasure Mountain Junior High. I would hope you will all join the discussion, I also hope that the entire City Council and our new Mayor will be in attendance to add input to the meeting. Roger Strand Park City Noise wall is bad idea Editor: UDOT wants to build a 3,225 foot sound barrier along a stretch of the Rasmussen access road in Jeremy Ranch that will be a lot higher than the Berlin Wall was. Apparently, UDOT has already accepted money from the Federal Government to build the wall though it has not yet been approved by a threefourths majority of the twenty-four homeowners who can vote on it. To understand why UDOT is in favor of building the wall, you have to understand that UDOT is in the construction business, and always has the incentive to justify construction projects. In the case of the wall, UDOT can hide behind federal regulations and noise studies and claim that they are only following someone else’s rules, but these rules well-serve UDOT’s interests. UDOT’s noise studies indicate that, depending on location, the wall might provide between a 2-8 decibel reduction in noise, however, UDOT has failed to educate homeowners as to exactly what that means. Most people have no idea what For the record Asked at Wasatch Bagel & Grill Christine Napier Park City I’m excited to improve my skiing. Dustin Lewis Heber I work up here and I hate the snow. Not excited one bit. a decibel is and UDOT has allowed them to think the wall will abate I-80 noise for all twenty-four voters. For example, the 2-5 decibel noise reduction imagined for residents along Saddleback Road will be unnoticeable to some and scant to the rest. For their view being spoiled and their property values probably being diminished, the voters will get nothing in return, except possibly the ire of the rest of Park City for allowing a wall to be built which is contrary to the character of our community. The only clear winner if the wall is built will be UDOT. John Matro Park City Olympics should make a return to Park City Editor: Why not have the Olympics in Park City? We have a community that is very passionate about winter sports, and our physical landscape is exceptional for the games. From our beautiful mountains and resorts to our unbelievable snow, Park City would be an amazing place for the Olympics just as they concluded in 2002. Our snow is impeccable. It is some of the greatest snow in the country, let alone the world. “We don’t have the most or the driest but a unique blend of consistency and abundance that we think creates the greatest snow on Earth,” said Ski Utah’s Jessica Kunzer in the Salt Lake Tribune. Aside from our great snow and other physical features, the 2002 Olympic games were one of the most successful winter games ever. There was over one hundred million dollars in profit and nearly five billion in overall sales. The games also contributed to the local economy, creating 35 thousand job years of employment and 1.5 billion dollars in earnings for Utah workers in 2002 alone. All things considered, Park City should, and most likely will be greatly considered for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Coco Lukrich Jordanelle Photos by Kira Hoffelmeyer What are you looking forward to most about this ski season? Lisa Fivecoat Taylorsville I’m more of a tuber, so I’m really excited for that. Karen Dolsberry Dixon Park City I’m excited for my grandkids coming in and skiing with our family. In my house, snow romance. Parker Seifert Chicago I’m looking forward to after school skiing with my friends and powder. Bergen Palmer Salt Lake City I would say I’m most excited to get out for early morning laps with some friends before work. See these photos and more by following The Park Record on Facebook.com/parkrecord and Instagram.com/parkrecord |