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Show Viewpoints The A-17 Park Record. Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, January 4-7, 2020 editorial Residents will reap rewards of new renewable energy program T guest editorial A monorail is the answer to the traffic woes facing Park City MARCO MESSINA Snyderville Basin As Tom Clyde opined, indeed transportation improvements in Park City continue to go nowhere. So, for the new year, let’s explore a new idea for S.R. 224 and S.R. 248 traffic. It will go against all you have heard for years. It’s not light rail — it’s a monorail. No I have not binged on yearend champagne ahead of time. Stay with me a minute and try to think out of the box. The Park City transportation conundrum is created by too many cars, not enough road space, insufficiently convenient or frequent bus service and very few options to change any of those factors. Monorails were decreed old ideas when Seattle decided to follow Portland on the light rail boondoggle. After decades of enormous investment and transportation disruption, Seattle light rail still does not reach where it is needed and impedes traffic wherever it does. Why? Because it is at the same level as existing traffic, it takes away roadbed from cars, buses, bicycles and emergency services and it creates intersections frequently blocked by railroad crossings. Construction requires costly right-of-ways and enormous disruption. Very successful monorail projects in Japan, China, Las Vegas, Disneyland show that we have been missing the boat. Monorails, compared to light rails require very little ground-level space, minimal disruption at ground level during sup- The Park Record Staff PUBLISHER ....................... Andy Bernhard Editor ................................... Bubba Brown Staff Writers ......................Jay Hamburger Scott Iwasaki Alexander Cramer Ryan Kostecka Contributing ............................. Tom Clyde Writers Teri Orr Amy Roberts Tom Kelly Joe Lair port construction, can be installed in the right-of-way already owned by the Utah Department of Transportation, are far quieter (on rubber wheels) requiring no noise abatement, and cross any streets without impeding ground-level traffic. So for just one moment, imagine a monorail running at high speed (no cross streets, no traffic lights, requires no snowplows) on continuous loop 24/7 (no driver needed, like at Seattle, Dallas and countless other airports subways), at first in a single direction and eventually bi-directional on the same supports. Now IMAGINE and take a ride with me: We get on at Pinebrook/Jeremy parkand-ride (no joke), we run over UDOT’s rights of way by Interstate 80 (nothing to buy) to the park-and-ride at Ecker Hill, then to the Kimball Junction transit center, then above the middle/turning lane of S.R. 224 to Canyons Village, to Park City Mountain Resort (yes we go above the golf course), then above S.R. 248 to Park City High School, then to Quinn’s Junction/Park City Hospital, then to Richardson Flats, above Hwy. 240 and 40 to Home Depot/Promontory, to Silver Creek, over I-80 to Spring Creek, above I-80 to Toll Canyon/Jeremy park-and-ride. We have just imagined serving every entry point of Park City traffic, served two of three ski areas, every major retail zone and existing park and rides. Future extensions could go to Kamas, etc. Smarter cats than me can figure more stops and other details. The key to it is that it is virtually all in rights-of-way that UDOT already controls, with limited ground-level disruption for construction, and runs unmanned indefinitely thereafter, no worry about cross traffic, crossings, snowplows, bad weather. For an experiment like this, the feds would also provide funding as we solve a uniquely difficult transportation problem. Oh well, maybe I got into a little sauce before time, but it was a nice dream. Letters Policy Copy Editor ............................ James Hoyt Engagement Editor............. Jeff Dempsey Photographer .........................Tanzi Propst Circulation Manager ............. Lacy Brundy Distribution........................... Henry Knight Accounting Manager ......... Jennifer Snow ADVERTISING Advertising Director ........... Valerie Spung Advertising Sales ................... Jodi Hecker Lindsay Lane Sharon Bush Emma Fedorowich Director of Digital Marketing .. Tina Wismer Production Director ..................Ben Olson Production ......................... Louise Mohorn The Park Record welcomes letters to the editor on any subject. We ask that the letters adhere to the following guidelines. They must include the home (street) address and telephone number of the author. No letter will be published under an assumed name. Letters must not contain libelous material. Letters should be no longer than about 300 words (about 600 words for guest editorials) and should, if possible, be typed. We reserve the right to edit letters if they are too long or if they contain statements that are unnecessarily offensive or obscene. Writers are limited to one letter every seven days. Letters thanking event sponsors can list no more than 6 individuals and/or businesses. Send your letter to: editor@parkrecord.com For the record alk about ending the decade on an uplifting note. In recent months, nearly every local government in Summit County signed on to a new statewide program that will allow their residents to purchase 100% renewable energy from Rocky Mountain Power by 2030. Advocates have rightfully hailed the program, borne out of state legislation passed last year, as a milestone achievement in the push for communities to reduce their carbon footprints. Thanks to their elected officials, residents who live in Park City, Coalville, Francis, Oakley, Kamas and unincorporated Summit County are poised to be among the first people in Utah who will have the choice of using the program to power their homes and businesses with clean energy. Summit County and Park City deserve immense credit, alongside Salt Lake City, for doing the heavy lifting required over the last few years to get the legislation enabling the program passed through the state Legislature last year. The commitment of Summit County and Park City to the effort was unsurprising since it aligns with the sustainability priorities of both governments and the ambitious carbon goals they’ve set. But the city councils of the other municipalities also stepped up in a big way, proving that there is a desire on the East Side for the kind of benefits the program promises to provide. In an October Council of Governments meeting, some East Side mayors did not initially seem enthusiastic about the program, so it was heartening to see they and other elected officials in their towns eventually get on board after they learned more. Residents eager to utilize clean energy should understand there are still hurdles before that actually happens, however. Each of the 20 municipalities in the state that pledged to participate in the program will be asked to help pay for Rocky Mountain Power to analyze how it will meet the new demand for renewable energy. The communities can still back out if they determine the costs they would have to shoulder — yet undetermined — are too great. There might, of course, be good reason to do so if, say, Kamas was asked to pay as much as Salt Lake City. But if the cost burden is equitable, the local governments in Summit County should move forward and make access to renewable energy a reality. Their residents, to say nothing of an environment in dire need of protection, will thank them. letters to the editor Up in flames After all that Sundance and independent film do to educate and inform about environment and climate change, lighting off a giant promotional bonfire at the festival is The. Dumbest. Idea. Ever. Did Robert Redford sign off on this? I want to know. Tom Horton Prospector Send a message Fellow Summit County residents, You may have already heard about the effort underway to gather signatures for a referendum on Utah Senate Bill 2001 on Tax Restructuring. Please join this effort by signing the petition, by spreading the word, by volunteering to gather signatures yourself. Why? This bill was rushed through a special session of the Legislature called just prior to the holiday season. This is one more bill in a long line of recent actions by the Legislature to ignore or override the will of the people of this state, two-thirds of whom do not approve of the measures in this bill. They even revised the laws on petitioning for referendums to make it harder for the voice of the people to be heard. We have only until Jan. 21 to gather enough signatures. They think we can’t do it, they think we don’t want to do it. Let’s send a message loud and clear to the Legislature that we are watching them and we are holding them accountable. Their arrogant behavior is unacceptable. If you don’t like what is in this bill — increases in food tax, gas tax and diesel tax, taking money away from education, taxing more services including haircuts, Uber/Lyft, sports lessons, etc. chosen arbitrarily based on lobbyists, and more — sign the petition. If you want more time to learn about what’s in this bill to decide whether you agree with it — sign the petition. Then you will have until it is on a ballot to learn more about it and make an educated decision. If you don’t agree with the way this bill was created, sign the petition. If you don’t want them to shift funding education away from the income tax, sign the petition. Find a scheduled signing events to sign. Volunteer to gather signatures yourself. This is your chance to be heard! Go to utah2019tax.com to find events, volunteer opportunities and more information on the bill. You can also find events on Facebook, by visiting the Summit County-specific page Summit Co Tax Repeal Petition Locations and attend an event Sunday, Jan. 5, from 2-4 p.m. in room 101 of the Park City Library. Speak up now by signing, speak up again by voting. Your voice matters and you will be heard! Kris Campbell Silver Creek Nailed it Jean Marie Hackett hit the nail on the head, or rather bashed the car on the fender, with the guest editorial about the Whole Foods parking lot in the Dec. 31Jan. 3 edition of The Park Record. I always try to park on the back row, closest to I-80, because it is usually less crowded, therefore safer. Last week a woman just ahead of me was in her car ready to leave. I stopped to wait as there were no other open spaces. The driver behind me was so impatient that he passed me, pulling yes, right behind the woman trying to back out. Then he couldn’t move because the next car was also waiting for a spot. Way to go, guy! Upon leaving, I decided to avoid the death-wish left turn by exiting the lot on the northwest end to use the roundabout by the outlet mall. So far, so good. Then when I got back near Whole Foods, a woman executed a “Hail Mary” left turn, nearly causing a crash by attempting to shoot in between me and another vehicle. I stomped on the brakes, risking whiplash. That entire stretch of road is confusing. First, if one wants to turn right, into Whole Foods, one must stay in the left lane because the right lane ends just before you get there. Then approaching the outlets, one must be in the right-hand lane to keep going and the left lane to enter the shops or u-turn. Of course this makes sense, but after staying left to turn right a few seconds ago, who knows? There is always a lot of last-second weaving as drivers try to get where they mean to go. Landmark Drive is just an extension of “Kill-Me Road.” Add a handful of clueless tour- ists to the irritated locals and you realize you have risked your life for a bag of salt-free corn chips. How healthy is that? I try to exercise patience and good humor because I have never seen a blaring horn or the middle finger improve a situation or educate a driver. Come on, Summit County, surely we can do better than this. Lanes, roads, drivers and all. Becky Yih Snyderville Basin The urban landscape The recent guest editorial from Jean Hackett about the Whole Foods parking lot was not only well written but had me laughing out loud pretty much throughout. Too good. Welcome to the urban landscape. I like shopping at Whole Foods and have resigned to put up with the substandard infrastructure. A lyric that comes to mind ... You can’t always get what you want, but if you try... Why are we having this conversation? The recipe goes something like this ... three parts lack of self awareness, two parts of the I’m-going-toget-mine profit motive, one part of no viable community land plan, all mixed with a dash of the survival instinct. I think Crosby, Stills & Nash summed it up quite well with the last five words of their 1969 hit “Long Time Gone:” long time before the dawn. Gus Sharry Summit Park Added incentive Instead of eliminating fees for the Kimball Arts Festival, causing a drastic hit to the revenue of the Kimball Art Center, why not allow patrons to apply part of the entrance cost to purchases at Main Street merchants, details and percentages to be worked out. This would be an incentive to attend and encourage entrants to patronize the businesses affected by the festival. Trying to make up admission revenue through increasing number of artists will not be sufficient and may dilute expected overall quality of the presentation. Howard Carrey Park City Photos by Jeff Dempsey Asked at the Library Field What are your hopes for the next decade? Ben Burkalow Seal Beach, California “Man, that’s like a job interview question. I can’t think that far ahead. Literally right now all I want is for my child to put her gloves on.” Kimi Klasser Redondo Beach, California “I’d like to see people communicate better. Faceto-face conversations. Be kinder. Try to understand the struggles of other people. I think we’re missing that these days.” Lori Johnson Austin, Texas “I really just want my kids to be safe and happy. Safe, happy and healthy children. I just dropped them off at the ski lift, so at least right now I’m sure they’re happy!” Margaret Nalley Little Rock, Arkansas “Politically, I’d like to see the country come together again and heal. Neither side is fully responsible. There are factions responsible. We’re just too divided.” See these photos and more by following The Park Record on Facebook.com/parkrecord and Instagram.com/parkrecord |