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Show B-1 PARK CITY COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD Despite the restrictions caused by COVID-19, many businesses are still providing goods and services. Head to bit.ly/prbulletin for information about open businesses. COVID-19 HAS PREVENTED GATHERINGS. SO PARK CITY CHURCHES ARE GOING VIRTUAL. WAY WE WERE, A-9 COLUMNS, A-10 A PIONEER ONCE PRACTICED IN PARK CITY AMY ROBERTS NAVIGATES QUARANTINING ALONE Park Record. The PA R K C I T Y, U TA H W W W. PA R K R E C O R D . C O M Wed/Thurs/Fri, April 8-10, 2020 Serving Summit County since 1880 How well are we doing at staying put? | Vol. 140 | No. 19 $1.00 Presence is the best present Location data from Google shows steep decline in volume of trips after county restrictions enacted ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record New data from Google is shedding some light on just how compliant Summit County residents have been with the March 25 stay-at-home order the county issued to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Some numbers are stark: The category that includes restaurants, shops and cafes, for instance, saw an 84% decline in visitors; parks saw a 47% decrease and workplaces saw 76% fewer people. The data is culled from Google users who have location history enabled on their cellphones. It’s the same process the internet behemoth uses to establish popular times at locations on Google Maps, according to information included along with the data. The latest data is from March 29 and is measured against a baseline set in the five weeks between Jan. 3 and Feb. 6 of this year, generally one of the busiest stretches of the tourist season. Summit County Health Director Rich Bullough said he is encouraged that the data indicates people are staying home, but that now is not the time to let up. “Please do all you can to continue fighting the spread,” Bullough wrote in a statement. “We are grateful for all of the individuals and businesses who continue to aid us in this fight with their cooperation and diligence.” Statewide, there were 1,738 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday. That’s resulted in 148 hospitalizations and 13 deaths. Bullough has estimated the number of daily new cases in Summit County will continue to rise until hitting a peak sometime around April 16, though he said that is based on modeling that may be inaccurate. He has said that more testing would yield more data that would help public health officials effectively model and battle the disease. So far, no one has died in Summit County, though there have been 265 confirmed cases and 21 hospitalizations. Bullough has said the Health Department is studying other areas around the nation and around the world to learn from their attempts to return to normalcy following a peak of cases and avoid repeating their mistakes. The fear is that opening the economy too soon would yield to another spike in cases. “It has always been one of our goals to return business operations and everyday life to what they were prior to the pandemic as soon as we can safely do so,” Bullough wrote. “If we aren’t strategic about how and when we do that, we’ll end up right back where we started, however.” Summit County is one of the hardest hit areas in the state, and Utah remains one of a handful of states that has not issued a statewide stay-at-home order. Summit County was the first government in the state to issue such an order, which effectively shuttered the local economy. Many area officials report seeing anecdotal evidence similar to what the Google data shows. Alison Kuhlow is the executive director of the Historic Park City Alliance, an organization that represents businesses on or nearby Main Street. She pointed out the timespan used to set the benchmark for the Google data included the Sundance Film Festival, perhaps setting a high benchmark. But she said that even with that comparison, the decrease in traffic to restaurants and shops wasn’t as dramatic as she might have thought. “Almost all the businesses are closed on Main Street. So, I mean, it makes sense,” Kuhlow said. “I’m surprised it’s only down 84%.” Statewide, that drop was 41%. The category that includes grocery stores, drug stores and pharmacies has seen a 65% drop-off in Summit County compared to 14% statewide, according to the Google data. Those businesses are some of the few that are deemed essential in the county and still allowed to operate. Several area grocery stores have shortened hours, including Smith’s Food and Drug at Kimball Junction, the Market at Park City, and Fresh Market in Park City. As of Monday, the Foodtown in Kamas was maintaining its regular schedule, with some hours restricted for senior-only shopping. Smith’s is offering senior-only shopping, as well. Officials have stressed the benefits of outdoor recreation during the pandemic for people’s mental health, Please see Data, A-2 2 sections • 20 pages Classifieds .............................. B-5 Editorial................................ A-11 Restaurant Guide.................... A-7 Weather .................................. B-4 TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Community members surprised Snyderville Basin resident Carleen Gardner with a drive-by birthday party Saturday. Gardner, 91, enjoyed a glass of champagne in her driveway on Cutter Lane while a procession of friends and neighbors offered well wishes. The celebration, organized by Gardner’s daughter, was an example of residents getting creative to share special moments even as social distancing requirements put in place to combat the coronavirus make personal gatherings impossible. See page A-6 for more photos from the birthday celebration. Brakes put on this year’s Tour of Utah Cancellation of August race is an early indicator disease will impact summer tourism JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The organizers of the Tour of Utah bicycling race have canceled this year’s event, citing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, an early indication that the disease’s impact on Park City’s summer-tourism season could be significant after it forced an early end to the ski season. The Tour of Utah course was scheduled to stretch through parts of Park City and surrounding Summit County on three days in early August, ending on Main Street on Aug. 9. Tour organizers had also designed a route to the Woodward Park City action sports camp in the Snyderville Basin on Aug. 6 and one to Canyons Village on Aug. 8. The event has grown into a popular date on the Park City tourism calendar as thousands of bicycling fans descend on Main Street for the finish line on the final day of the race. Many spectators spend the day along Main Street, watching the bicyclists leave for the final stage before perusing vendor and sponsor setups on a Main Street that is closed to traffic for the event. Spectators line Main Street as the bicyclists return to Old Town after a day of climbs and descents. There are also spectators at numerous other points along the Park City-area route. The chairman of the Tour of Utah, Steve Miller, said in a prepared statement the cancellation is in “the best interests” of the host communities, the cyclists and spectators. “For the past 15 editions, this international cycling event has traveled the scenic byways of Utah, and we will miss gathering communities together to enjoy the race this year,” Miller said. The loss of the Tour of Utah for 2020 is a notable hit to the summer-tourism season based on the amount of spectators and publicity generated for Park City, a place widely seen as an attractive community for bicyclists. It draws one of the largest one-day crowds of the year to Main Street. The progress of the riders is shown on a video screen, the spectators mingle with sponsors and there are bicycling-centric activities as the crowd awaits the return of the peloton to the Main Street finish line. The Tour of Utah broadly benefits the Park City economy as people associated with the event itself and spectators arrive for the weekend. The lodging industry, restaurants and shops typically enjoy a solid weekend for business. The spread of the novel coronavirus carved into Park City’s tourism-dependent economy toward the end of the ski season. The Park City Chamber/Bureau has said the impact on the ski season was contained since the mountain resorts were forced to close with just several Please see Tour of Utah, A-2 PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO The Tour of Utah bicycling race draws thousands of spectators to the finish line on Main Street. The organizers have canceled the event in 2020, citing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus. MAKE A DIFFERENCE The Christian Center of Park City continues to provide food and other necessities to families affected by the coronavirus pandemic. See ccofpc.org for more information, and send other examples of people making a difference to editor@parkrecord.com. |