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Rail Trail Final Plan

What’s Going On?

Park City worked with the community and stakeholders to develop a Rail Trail Master Plan, which helps create a vision for the Rail Trail (between Bonanza Drive and SR-248 east of US-40), and identifies safety and use improvements. Recommendations also considered additional trail connectivity, environmental enhancements, mobility improvements, alternative transportation, and related amenities. The community's feedback has helped the City understand how the Rail Trail is used, and what could make it more useful in the future. The Rail Trail Master Plan is a key initiative of the Sustainability and Transportation Planning departments.

Project Timeline

This project began in Fall 2021. The first step was gathering public feedback in October and November 2021, followed by analyzing technical information and develop ideas for future improvements on this section of the Rail Trail. Ideas were refined throughout spring 2022, and there was opportunity for the public to provide feedback in mid-spring 2022.

Open House #2 Summary

The second open house for this project took place on April 20, 2022, at the Prospector Park City. Open houses are opportunities for interested community members to learn about and engage with the project.

The purpose of this event was to provide an update on what’s happened since the last open house in November 2022, what we’ve heard from the community, present potential ideas and recommendations for the Rail Trail based on what you’ve told us so far, and hear from you and gather your thoughts on these potential ideas and recommendations.

This event drew 50-60 members of the public who provided feedback and comments on potential amenities, proposed trail cross-sections, and how important each of these ideas and recommendations was to them.

We received nearly 200 comments from participants that enforced the recurring themes we’ve heard from the community regarding user safety and comfort, additional wayfinding and interpretive signage, additional opportunities to sit and rest with shade structures, connecting to key destinations, and preserving the natural habitat along the Rail Trail. Input also included:

• People supported separating uses such as pedestrians and bikers but had concerns about the proposed 25’ width of asphalt as noted in the presented cross-section.
• People were supportive of the Wag’n Path as a means to provide additional separation of uses and as a means of allowing off-leash dog activity.
• People wanted clear and effective enforcement of etiquette and off-leash dogs,
• People wanted to keep the Rail Trail as natural as possible, preferring no lighting or very low-level lighting placed only at intersections or trailheads.

Participants were also asked how important each of the proposed ideas and recommendations were to them. Many felt that widening the trail, grooming the trail for winter use, and improved trail crossings and street crossings were high priorities, whereas dark-sky-friendly trail lighting, electronic trail counters, and trail signage adoption programs were low priorities.

The feedback received at the open house will help Park City and the project team identify and refine the plan for the Rail Trail.

Survey

Park City Rail Trail Corridor Plan Online Community Survey Results

Intro

Community engagement has been an important part of this project since the beginning. This section of the Rail Trail (between Bonanza Drive and SR-248 east of US-40) is a key part of the neighborhoods and businesses in Park City. The community’s input will shape the Rail Trail by helping to identify improvements for the trail itself and better connecting the trail to the communities around it.

The latest in a series of outreach efforts is an online public survey to help understand how the Rail Trail is used, what could make it more useful, and who is (or not) using the trail today. The survey was conducted in both English and Spanish and was available online between January 12 and February 14, 2022. Overall, 1,034 total respondents took the survey. Of those, 97% indicated that they had previously been on the Rail Trail.

Of those who had been on the Rail Trail

Respondents indicated that they used the Rail Trail less in the winter than they did the rest of the year. Most used the Rail Trail for recreation and exercise, but many said they used it to get to other trails or parks. Many respondents walk, bike, or drive to the Rail Trail, while others get there by other means, including horses, rollerblading, roller skiing, and cross-country skiing. Once there, the primary modes of transportation included walking, biking (this includes commuter, mountain, and e-bike), cross-country skis, and snowshoes. The trail is being accessed at various locations, including Round Valley, Prospector, White Pine/Iron Horse, and Bonanza.

When asked what amenities they want to experience along the Rail Trail, respondents indicated a preference for the following (from highest demand to lowest demand):

Overall, respondents wanted to see more connections made, including at Quinn’s Junction, Park City Heights, and Jordanelle. In addition, many felt that design features such as signage and striping, overcrossings/bridges, and separating the trail by mode would help improve the overall experience.

For those who had never been on the trail

The 3% who had never been on the Rail Trail before stated that some common barriers they encountered were the lack of trail access from where they are, no available parking in locations where they would typically access the trail, and that the trail lacks important amenities. They felt that amenities such as directional/wayfinding signage, restrooms, trash, and dog waste stations would encourage them to try the Rail Trail.

Other Comments

When asked what other feedback people had about the Rail Trail, about 47% of all people who took the survey responded with thoughts and suggestions for recreational amenities, community development, environmental enhancements, or mobility improvements. Many comments included a desire to keep the Rail Trail as natural as possible, improve ongoing trail maintenance, and create more connections. In addition, there were strong themes around signage regarding trail etiquette, and separating paths by mode.

For more information on the results of this survey, check out the summary PDF here.

Recent Events

Park City hosted a public open house for the project on Wednesday November 17, 2021, at the Prospector Park City. The event drew between 50-60 members of the public, who were asked to share their ideas for potential improvements and enhancements on this section of the Rail Trail.

Attendees also reacted to a wide range of possible amenities that could be accommodated on the trail, from waste receptacles to restroom facilities to bike parks. We received over 200 comments during the open house and we heard some recurring themes:

• People want to feel safe using the trail, and this might mean separating different kinds of user groups on the trail or enforcement of rules and regulations
• Wayfinding signage would be helpful so people can more easily orient themselves on the trail, connect to other trail networks, and find points of interest along the trail
• Trail users enjoy the interpretive signs located along the trail and might like to see more of this educational content
• People want more opportunities to sit and rest along the trail, so benches may be a helpful amenity in some key locations
• Trail users want to be able to connect easily to key destinations along the trail
• The natural habitat along the trail is very important to trail users, who would like to see it preserved

People were also asked to share what they valued most about the Rail Trail. This information will help shape goals and objectives for the Rail Trail Corridor Plan.

Some dogs also came to provide their feedback.

The feedback received at the open house will help Park City and the project team develop ideas and concepts for improvement along the Rail Trail, which will be shown to the public in Spring 2022.

How Can I Get Involved?

• Subscribe to Park City’s social media and/or newsletter for engagement notifications.
• Create a bookmark to this page to get regular updates and find project information.
• Contact the project’s public outreach manager, Kathrine Skollingsberg, at Fehr & Peers (k.skoll@fehrandpeers.com), with questions, comments, or to be added to the email list.