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Show A-2 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, May 2-5, 2020 The Park Record The Park Record. Serving Summit County since 1880 The Park Record, Park City’s No. 1 source for local news, opinion and advertising, is available for home delivery in Summit, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. Single copies are also available at 116 locations throughout Park City, Heber City, Summit County and Salt Lake City. SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Summit County (home delivery): $56 per year (includes Sunday editions of The Salt Lake Tribune) Outside Summit County (home delivery available in Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties; all other addresses will be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service): $80 per year To subscribe please call 435–649– 9014 or visit www.parkrecord.com and click the Subscribe link in the Reader Tools section of the toolbar at the bottom of the page. To report a missing paper, please call 801–204–6100. 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No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. ‘Huge influx’ of Salt Lakers seen on trails C C Apparent surge comes despite visitor ban that was in place last month JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record A Park City trails advocate on Friday indicated large crowds of people from the Salt Lake Valley are arriving in the community to use the area’s extensive network, a comment made during a wide-ranging discussion about the reopening of the city after the novel coronavirus shutdown. Charlie Sturgis, who is the executive director of the not-for-profit Mountain Trails Foundation, said there has been a “huge influx” of Salt Lake Valley residents seen on the trails in the Park City area. The apparent surge has come despite a countywide stay-at- Continued from A-1 Reopening begins to cap the number of patrons using that formula, in addition to other measures such as limiting aisles to one-way traffic. Up to 20 people are allowed at theaters and other entertainment venues, as long as social distancing protocols are followed. Gatherings of that many people are also permitted at churches, though the order encourages them to use video conferencing instead of meeting in person. All businesses in the county, meanwhile, are forced to take actions such Continued from A-1 Main Street ideas “The Historic Park City small business community is not only critical to the charm of Park City, but also at the forefront of economic activity within the area. The Historic Park City Alliance encourages customers to support locals first as we work to support the small business economy,” the memo says. “The efforts outlined home order that was in place throughout April and directed visitors not to enter the community. That mandate was lifted Friday, though health officials continue to advise people from neighboring counties to stay away. The trails at lower elevations have generally been dry for several weeks while snow remains on the upper-elevation trails. There have been hikers and bicyclists consistently seen on the lower-elevation trails recently. Many have opted for the trails for exercise after the early end to the ski season and the temporary closure of health clubs, including the Park City Municipal Athletic & Recreation Center, as a result of the coronavirus. Sturgis indicated people should bring masks and sanitizer while they are on the trails. He said they should wipe their bicycles and gear like gloves with the sanitizer. Sturgis added people on the trails should avoid unnecessary contact with pets owned by others. Sturgis also said single-direction trails, or those that require all users move in the same direction, would not help the efforts to stop the spread of the illness. He said the concept was researched but not implemented. Park City Councilor Max Doilney, who also participated on Friday, added that people need to maintain the practice of social distancing at trailheads. The Park City-area trail system is one of the community’s points of pride as the network stretches from the city itself and into the Snyderville Basin. Many of the trails are popular on a year-round basis as hikers and bicyclists use them in the summer while snowshoers and cross-country skiers are on the trails in the winter. The trails are free and typically open to anyone, regardless of where they live. People started to flock to the trails shortly after Park City Mountain Re- as posting signage with information about proper protocols, screening employees for symptoms of the coronavirus before their shifts and appointing someone responsible for “COVID-19 issues and their impact in the workplace.” Absent from the order is a ban on visitors, who were required to leave as part of the stay-at-home mandate. Bullough said Thursday, however, that non-essential travel remains unwise. He urged visitors, including from neighboring areas, to refrain from coming into Summit County for reasons other than work. “If you’re considering coming here to recreate, we still have a small hospital,” he said, referring to lingering fears that a spike in coronavirus patients could overwhelm health care infrastructure. “Our obligation is still to our residents.” The prospect of reopening is likely to be welcomed by many businesses that have awaited eased restrictions af- ter the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the community last month prompted the stay-at-home mandate. It is unclear, though, how quickly customers will return, given continuing concern about the virus. The growth of confirmed cases slowed after the stay-at-home order was enacted. Officials have said public health data, including information gleaned from a recent testing push that included many asymptomatic people, indicates that it is safe to gradually reopen the economy, even as some residents, apprehensive about the possibility of igniting another outbreak, have expressed skepticism about the wisdom of doing so. Predictions about the economic effects of the pandemic remain grim, even in light of the reopening plans, though much about the evolving situation is still unknown. The Park City government is projecting a 36% drop in sales tax revenue in the fiscal year that begins in July versus what had sort and Deer Valley Resort ended the ski season several weeks before scheduled amid the spread of the coronavirus. Sturgis in March said the crowd sizes increased when the mountain resorts closed. Round Valley, one of the lower-elevation locations that draws trail users, was popular as the c mountain resorts closed, Sturgis said p at the time. a Trail use typically climbs in late s spring and into the summer with C more routes open as the snow melts. a It seems there could be broader w worries about the trails at that point s should some social distancing restrict tions remain intact since issues like c user numbers, parking and pets on trails would likely become more prot nounced. There could also be widened r concern about people from the Salt o Lake Valley heavily using the trails O under that scenario as Parkites comt pete with them for parking spots and space on the trails. o s been expected, for instance, contribut-d ing to an anticipated budget shortfalla of nearly $8.6 million. s County officials early in the week indicated they were planning to imple-a ment a new order at 12:01 a.m. Satur-p day, minutes after the stay-at-home or-b der was initially slated to expire. Theyw moved the new order up to Friday to coincide with the governor’s reopen-n ing timeline for the state. a The order is scheduled to remain in place through July 1. Health officials, notably, plan to reevaluate it in two weeks and could reinstate a stay-athome order if the spread of the coronavirus has “substantially increased.” “We’re very hopeful moving forward, but it’s going to be a team effort, it’s going to be a community effort,” Bullough said during the council meeting. The health order is available in its entirety at summitcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/10897/Joint-Public-HealthOrder-2020-05—Stabilization-Phase. focus on a slow recovery plan allowing for the relaxing of health orders while still maintaining measure to reduce the spread of the virus. It is important to the Historic Park City community to slowly return to normal business operations with the hopes that the 2020/21 winter tourism season is protected from a reoccurrence of the virus.” Kuhlow in an interview said the organization has not finalized the ideas. She said the Historic Park City Alliance plans to refine the ideas for operations to fit the business occupancy numbers and restaurant seating capacity regulations included in a county health order enacted Friday. Kuhlow also said it appears there is not support within the membership of the Historic Park City Alliance to pursue more ambitious ideas, including pedestrianizing Main Street or turning the street into a one-way thoroughfare. She said additional discussions are expected in coming weeks, as Main Street approaches the traditional start of the summer-tourism season in June. The Historic Park City Alliance will eventually need to approach Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council about the plans. The elected officials on Thursday night briefly spoke about Main Street possibilities, including the expansion onto public rights of way. There was support for the overarching ideal of backing businesses through unorthodox steps, but the mayor and City Council were not prepared to hold a detailed discussion. Formal talks will likely be scheduled shortly. The Historic Park City Alliance holds a key role as Main Street attempts to emerge from the downturn. The organization in April issued a months-long plan to guide the recovery. There is concern the impact of the coronavirus will stretch through the summer on Main Street and on the wider Park City business community. The Tour of Utah bicycling race organizers canceled the event this year and, shortly afterward, the Park Silly Sunday Market announced its cancellation. The Tour of Utah typically draws one of the largest one-day crowds of the year to Main Street, while the Silly Market attracts solid crowds on Sundays in the summer and early fall. r The Park Record (USPS 378-730) (ISSN 0745-9483) is published twice weekly by Wasatch Mountain News Media Co., 1670 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT 84060. Periodicals postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, 84199-9655 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, UT84060. Entered as second-class matter, May 25, 1977, at the Post Office in Park City, Utah, 84060 under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are: $56 within Summit county, $80 outside of Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferable: $5 cancellation fee. Phone: 435–649–9014 Fax: 435–649–4942 Email: circulation@parkrecord.com Published every Wednesday and Saturday Convenient Banking 944 M o u nta i n Willow Lane Trailside Park 3 B D | 3 BA | 2 , 27 2 SQ. 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