BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — UDOT is reminding everyone who plans to drive up to ski or recreate in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons this weekend to plan ahead; make sure you have proper snow tires or chains, good wipers, even extra water and blankets in case you do get in an accident, said John Gleason, Public Relations Director for UDOT.
“Nobody wants that to happen, but there's always that off chance that you could get stuck out in these conditions, and you want to make sure that you're prepared if that does happen,” he said. “Our crews are going to be out there doing everything that they can, but some of the snow rates that we're seeing out there, it's going to be tricky to stay on top of that.”
Some skiers are concerned about drivers not obeying the traction law.
“There was so many people not using traction control,” said Kaleb Dininny. “Not many people had chains and there were quite a few people we had to go around that had four-wheel drive vehicles but didn't have them engaged, and their tires were spinning going up the hill, and we saw a couple of accidents coming down the other way.”
The Brighton Ski Resort staff are hoping their new parking reservation system, which started Friday, will help reduce canyon traffic, said Jared Winkler, Director of Marketing for Brighton.
“We decided the best thing for our guests would be to have a way to reserve a parking spot and know that you can get a parking spot at the resort when you come to go skiing, and instead of coming skiing, waiting in a long line to then be told that the parking is full and that you have to go back down the canyon and figure something else out,” he said.
New this year too: a Salt Lake County Ordinance has now raised the violation fine for parking illegally on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road from a criminal offense of $25 to a civil penalty up to $150.
“That's a safety issue,” said Winkler. “And I think it's going to be something that'll help people kind of consider it and maybe choose a different option than just parking in the middle of the road.”
