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Show Governor intervenes to help resolve traffic problems by CHRISTOPHER SMART Record staff writer ' Gov. Norm Bangerter has intervened in-tervened in what has become a feud between Park City and the Utah Department of Transportation. In a letter to Mayor Jack Green, the governor notes that Park City's traffic problems are "unique," "uni-que," something the city has been trying to tell UDOT for years. The uneasy relationship between the city and the transportation department blew up in September when a dump truck rolled over on Marsac Avenue near the intersection intersec-tion of Hillside Avenue. The driver died in the accident and city manager Arlene Loble blamed UDOT. She said the city had been trying for years to install a runaway truck lane and other precautions in Ontario On-tario Canyon that might have prevented the mishap. At every turn,- the city manager contended, UDOT blocked improvements. . . In October, city councilman Jim Doilney, in conjunction with the Park City Board of Education, or-. chestrated a letter-writing campaign cam-paign to the governor, asking for reduced speed limits along Kearns Boulevard and a stop light at the intersection in-tersection of Kearns and Bonanza Drive. The letter campaign was begun, said Doilney, because local officials had exhausted all avenues through UDOT without satisfaction. Earlier, the Park City Council and Police Chief Frank Bell had asked for reduced speed limits along Utah Highway 224 as it enters the north end of town. While UDOT was finally persuaded to add turn lanes at the intersection of Highway 224 with Holiday Ranch Loop and Pay Day Drive, the agency refused to lower the speed limit. On July 4, 1984, Park City police officer Rod Schreurs was hit and , killed at that intersection while directing traffic following the municipality's annual Fourth of July fireworks display. The speed limit at that intersection remains 55 mph. Bangerter 's letter reads in part: "In reviewing the matter, I have been informed by Director of Transportation William D, Hurley that he has assigned the department's depart-ment's surveillance engineer to work directly with the city and the UDOT District Two Office to resolvp problems in a timely manner." When requests are made for traffic traf-fic signals, UDOT, as a matter of course, takes traffic surveys to determine if a light is necessary, according ac-cording to department spokesmen. However, Park City's traffic patterns pat-terns are seasonal, with heavy traffic traf-fic in the winter and summer and ' relatively light traffic during the spring and fall. Park City officials worked for years to get a stoplight at the intersection in-tersection of Park Avenue with Empire Em-pire Avenue and Deer Valley Drive. According to city officials, UDOT had the habit of taking its traffic surveys in the off season. The analysis of those surveys initially , showed no need for a traffic light. Bangerter's letter states in part . that, "initial contact and a field review occurred Oct. 30," the off season. However, Bangerter's letter continues, "I am confident that the issues will be resolved soon." According to city engineer Eric , DeHaan, the municipality is asking for a stoplight at the intersection of Deer Valley Drive and Bonanza Drive as well as the previous request for a light at Kearns Boulevard and Bonanza Drive. |