January 6, 2017
Dear County Commissioners, Town Council Members, and Staff:
We write on behalf of the Responsible Growth Coalition (RGC), a local non-profit corporation whose mission is to raise public awareness concerning planning and transportation issues in Teton County, Wyoming and the Town of Jackson.
As we understand it, you are considering raising public funds in a new SPET to design and construct a Tribal Trails Connector (TTC). We strongly oppose inclusion of that project in the upcoming SPET ballot for the following reasons:
1. When the ITP was adopted, you, our elected officials, committed to undertake a comprehensive review of the need for new or expanded roads. You promised the public that you would conduct an analysis of current and historic traffic data and modeling of alternative measures to deal with current and future traffic congestion. No such analysis was ever done by the consultant who developed the ITP. It is exceedingly premature to seek public funds for a new road like a TTC, before starting, completing or sharing the results of that work with the public. As we understand it, a RFP has just now been developed by your Staff, but a consultant has yet to be selected from WYDOT’s vendor list, so no actual work has started. In fact, the only study of traffic data that has been done to date is the one we did and shared with you earlier this Fall, and it demonstrates that the TTC is not needed to alleviate congestion at the Y.
2. To the extent that your support for a TTC derives from its inclusion in the ITP (from what we gather this is the main reason), we note that a TTC’s justification in the ITP is “alleviation of traffic at the Y.” WYDOT has recently confirmed that it will be making improvements at the Y on an accelerated schedule to do just that, at a fraction of the cost of a TTC. The Y improvement project is due to be started in August 2017 and completed by April 2018. WYDOT believes the Y improvements will address traffic congestion at the Y Intersection for the next 12-15 years. These improvements are consistent with those suggested by our independent consultant. There is no demonstrated need for a new road, such as a TTC, in the near future.
3. If emergency access to South Park is a concern, such access already exists along the existing bike pathway (which is wide enough to handle emergency vehicles) and through Indian Springs (which has given access to emergency vehicles), both the north and south parts of South Park Loop Road and High School Road.
4. Last but not least, the neighborhoods that would be most affected by a TTC (Indian Trails, Indian Springs, Creamery and Dairy, and 3 Creek), in fact, strongly oppose its construction and will mount an opposition campaign, along with RGC and its members. In sum, a TTC should not be included in a new SPET. If it is, the project will be vigorously and visibility opposed.
Thank you for considering our comments.
Sincerely,
Officers of the Board of the Responsible Growth Coalition
Lance Cygielman
Michele Gammer
Geoff Gottlieb