The Central Wasatch Commission’s board members have unanimously approved directing an updated feasibility study for Millcreek Canyon to have a shuttle service to avoid overcrowding from traffic.
The shuttle would help maintain a quality user experience and preserve vegetation and wildlife through a reduction of canyon vehicular presence—so that the four systems (environment, transportation, recreation, and economy) identified in the Mountain Accord remain in balance.
“Ten years ago, at the launch of the Mountain Accord, the signers envisioned a shuttle program in Millcreek Canyon to reduce congestion, alleviate parking shortages, and minimize user conflicts in an already busy canyon,” said Jeff Silvestrini, Millcreek mayor and CWC board chair.
“A decade later, this beloved canyon is even busier, and the need for reliable transportation has only grown. Now, with Upper Millcreek Canyon temporarily closed and construction underway in Emigration and City Creek canyons, the cottonwoods simply can’t absorb the overflow of visitors. This updated feasibility study is the next step toward making the recreation experience in Millcreek Canyon more efficient, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone.”
The feasibility study is part of Salt Lake County’s 2012 Regional Transportation Plan.
The study sought to address the primary issues in the canyon: full parking lots at popular trailheads, illegal parking on the roadway, pedestrians walking long distances on the main road to reach popular trailheads, and watershed degradation, loss of vegetation, and erosion caused by overflow parking. The project team looked into parking management concepts, transit concepts, and bicycle and pedestrian concepts.
For the transit concept, the study looked into a winter shuttle, a summer all-canyon shuttle, and a summer upper canyon shuttle outfitted with capabilities for hauling bikes, skis, dogs, and more. Ten years later, the commission completed a Visitor Use Study, providing valuable information for an updated shuttle feasibility study.
With populations along the Wasatch Front trending upward and the desire to spend time in this stunning canyon only increasing, an updated study was found to be warranted.
Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, along with Millcreek, receive an estimated 3.2 million visitors a year in an area that spans 80,000 acres. That eclipses the amount of visitation Arches and some other national parks in Utah receive. Visitation is only expected to grow.
Because Upper Millcreek Canyon will be closed for construction in summer 2025 — resulting in a temporary loss of many parking spaces — the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest began considering a shuttle program to service the lower canyon.
Forest officials approached the commission to research and develop a proposal to assess the current feasibility of a shuttle program that would begin service in summer 2025 and adapt as construction continues in the canyon.
The updated Millcreek Shuttle Feasibility Study will be performed by Fehr & Peers, the Salt Lake City-based transportation planning firm that conducted the original 2012 Feasibility Study, during late summer 2025. The scope of their study is as follows:
- They will identify parking demand and, in partnership with UDOT, Salt Lake County, the forest service, Millcreek City and Skyline High School, the study will look for an ideal parking location.
- The study will examine vehicle occupancy, proposed shuttle frequency and ridership, and overall demand to determine if collected fees can be reduced with shuttle implementation. They will develop up to three scenarios to analyze this possibility
- The study will create two service plans. The “pilot” program will provide transportation while the upper canyon is closed during construction. This is an opportunity to determine fleet size and frequency while planning capital and operations costs
- A second plan will be developed to expand the Big Water parking lot area
- These discussions will also include gathering ideas about how to accommodate dogs, skis, and bikes on the shuttle
The Central Wasatch Commission is accepting public comment now through Aug. 12.
The commission advises those who submit comments to consider a number of factors such as what encouragement would be necessary to ride the shuttle, what would prevent someone from taking a shuttle, what time of year would be the likely window for taking advantage of the system and when it comes to fees, would people be willing to pay more, less or the same compared to the current $5 a day or $50 a year fee.
The commission said there are four ways to comment: via email at comments@cwc.utah.gov, by calling the office at 435-650-0614; fill out a comment form, https://cwc.utah.gov/cwc-approves-updated-shuttle-feasibility-study-for-mill-creek-canyon/ or mail a comment to Central Wasatch Commission 311 S. State St., Ste. 330 Salt Lake City, UT 84111.