The Wasatch metropolitan area, home of Utah’s capitol and the state’s largest Latino population, is situated along the serene Wasatch-Cache National Forest. There, millions of people visit year round for a diverse range of outdoor recreation opportunities, particularly within the canyons of the Central Wasatch. In Spring 2024, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) set out to formalize a Big Cottonwood Canyon Winter Transportation Plan to address significant traffic issues and anticipate increasing canyon visitation.
Now, days remain to submit public comment on the plan’s Environmental Assessment, which proposes numerous solutions:
- More frequent bus services (10 buses per hour during peak hours)
- A Mobility Hub accommodating 1,750 parking bases for bus riders and drivers, ~23 buses per hour (serving Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon), and 14 bus bays
- Bus stop improvements for ADA compliance, pedestrian crosses, restrooms and other safety permits
- Bus priority infrastructure
- Upper canyon tolling, starting just beneath Solitude Mountain Resort Entry 1
All members of the public are invited to submit a comment on the Environmental Assessment in Spanish and English by January 19.
GreenLatinos is represented on UDOT’s Stakeholder Working Group. Many of our comments from working group meetings, alongside earlier formal written comments are reflected in the proposed action. Overall GreenLatinos supports this plan and it still has significant opportunity for improvement to mark Utah as a global clean energy leader, support thriving wildlife and enhance equal access to our glorious national forest. GreenLatinos submitted a formal, detailed, technical comment to UDOT and the U.S. Forest Service on these matters, and call on nuestra comunidad to make a meaningful difference on this plan.
More details about the plan can be found in Inglés y Español. To submit a comment use:
- Website: https://udotinput.utah.gov/bccstudy#tab-51337
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 801-477-6410 (voicemail or text)
- Mail: Big Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Study
c/o HDR, 2825 E Cottonwood Parkway #200
Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
Importantly, your comment should reflect what you think and why. Tell UDOT the reasoning for your suggestions and opinions. These points summarize GreenLatinos’ recommendations to improve the plan. Please consider integrating them into your comment.
- Thank you for mentioning canyon connection bus services from the Salt Lake valley to the mobility hub. The final action should formally designate at least three canyon connection buses which terminate at the hub. One should have a terminus at the West Valley Central station to enhance forest access for those living in the most nature-deprived region of Salt Lake County. I also support UTA Bus Routes 4 and 72 being designated as canyon connection buses. Route 4 is an especially important canyon connection service, as it adequately connects residents within nature-deprived neighborhoods in western Salt Lake City to our abundant national forest.
- I support the mobility hub concept and location. Please integrate on-site solar energy, time-limited electric vehicle charging stations, and ensure the facility design meets LEED and DarkSky standards. I encourage UDOT to revegetate the surrounding property with native, drought tolerant plants that support pollinators, and create shade structures in order to mitigate summertime heat on site.
- I support canyon and resort bus stop improvements, especially: improvements providing break area and restroom access to bus drivers; restrooms at Cardiff Fork; and resting areas for transit users. These components are essential for bus driver and transit user safety. Please reconsider the Solitude Mountain Resort Bus Stop Proposal by utilizing a disturbed location to site the 1,600 sq. ft. equipment storage shed. And please do everything you can to avoid construction in the Inventoried Roadless Area at the Spruces bus stop. These updates would make a significant, positive difference for wildlife health and persistence.
Most of us can use a bus, and many of us need them
GreenLatinos envisions a thriving and equitable society where historically overburdened communities and future generations are able to enjoy a renewed and protected ecosystem, liberated from disproportionate environmental injustices. To that end, transit to trails is among our top priorities. Most of us believe that our children should grow up thriving in healthy natural areas, which is why the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation initiated the Every Kid Outdoors Adventure Challenge.
But neither every child, nor every household has access to a private vehicle. Transportation mobility is a universal barrier blockading equal access to nature’s benefits. A University of British Columbia estudiar on transit in western U.S. cities found that low-income communities, people of color, and seniors tended to have longer trips and less access to natural areas “in spite of the fact they are the groups who rely more on public transit uses.” Salud America found that 27% of urban Latino residents rely on public transit daily and are almost twice as likely to not have access to a personal vehicle compared to urban non-Latino white residents.
Lack of reasonable and affordable transportation options, combined with living in nature deprived places poses a serious public health concern. Public buses connecting all of us to outdoor adventures is a sensible and popular solution.
The case for a Canyon Connection bus service from West Valley Central Station
West Valley City is among the state of Utah’s most nature-deprived communities with a ranking of 4.5-13.5/100 by NatureScore. Residents in West Valley City are in critical need of transit services providing access to forest service land within Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon in order to improve public health and quality of life for local residents. The Nature Gap study points to complications on respiratory health, mental wellness, and children’s health among people living in nature deprived areas.
According to the EPA EJ Screen, recently restored by the Public Environmental Data Partnership, West Valley City (WVC) residents on average are in the 50-80th percentile–with some census tracts in the 90-95th percentile–of asthma prevalence among adults aged 18 or older. On average WVC residents experienced 80-100 days of extreme heat between 2019-2023. Bus services providing reasonable mobility to recreation areas in Big Cottonwood can ameliorate these public health issues. Two specific populations in WVC are most constantly and adversely exposed to deadly heat and air pollutants: non-white residents, and low-income residents.
In addition to being one of the most nature-deprived municipalities in the state, West Valley City is the state’s township with the largest Hispanic/Latino population. 42.5 percent of WVC residents identified as Hispanic/Latino in 2024.
Further, West Valley City has a higher poverty level compared to the statewide average. WVC also has a significant quantity of census tracts in the 50-100th percentile of low-income residents (meaning a sizable population with a household income less than twice the federal poverty level) according to the EPA EJ screen. The federal poverty level for a family of four in 2025 was $32,150. To clearly interpret this data, a sizable quantity of four-family-member households in WVC bring in less than $64,300 and are considered low-income. Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) existing ridership mirrors WVC’s demographic. UTA’s 2024 On-Board Study found that more than half of its ridership, 54 percent, “reported annual household incomes under $45,000.” Nearly a quarter of UTA’s bus riders reported annual household incomes less than $18,000—for a family of two or more this is well under the federal poverty level line.
