Many are elated over UDOT’s recent about-face decision to begin Phase 1 congestion improvements in Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC) after claiming, for nearly two years, that lawsuits prohibited this very action. We understand the excitement. And while we appreciate UDOT’s long history of providing Utah residents an expansive transportation system, our concerns are not primarily about what UDOT announced—it’s about what UDOT’s announcement omits.

Gondola B is UDOT's selected long-term alternative, with buses and sheds as stepping stones, NOT as a test that can cancel the gondola. You’ve probably heard some version of this promise from UDOT, politicians and other stakeholders regarding the proposed Gondola B solution for Little Cottonwood Canyon: “We’ll start with more frequent buses and avalanche sheds. We’ll only build the gondola if those don’t work.” But that’s not what UDOT actually decided.

UDOT’s Gondola math adds up to spending $1.4 Billion for basically no traffic relief. UDOT has been clear from the beginning: for every alternative in Little Cottonwood Canyon—including buses, trains, and the gondola—their goal is to shift about 30% of people from cars to transit. When you dig into the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) Executive Summary and the Record of Decision, UDOT’s own design modeling actually shows a 31.8% reduction in vehicles in their best-case scenario.