A second ski resort near Salt Lake City is changing its parking policy to favor carpooling amid concerns about traffic congestion in a Utah canyon home to popular ski resorts.
Starting Wednesday, Brighton Resort will designate prime parking areas for visitors with three people or more in their cars on holidays like Christmas that are often popular days to ski, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Officials said the policy applies to weekends, holidays and powder days. It could encourage more people to share cars or take public transportation on days when cars full of excited skiers can lead to long lines of traffic snaking through the famous snow-covered mountains.
Single drivers or those with one passenger must park at a further lot, where a shuttle service will ferry them to the lifts. When that lot near the resort store is full, people will be asked to turn around and park along the road, or return to the mouth of the canyon and take public transit.
The move comes after neighboring Solitude Mountain Resort, also in Big Cottonwood Canyon, made the unusual move to start charging non-carpooling guests $20 to park. The price drops to $10 if the car has three occupants and $5 for four or more people. Park staffers have said their goal isn’t to make money, but rather to ease traffic gridlock.
Season pass holders at both Brighton and Solitude can ride free on the canyon bus routes offered by the Utah Transit Authority.
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