Responsible Growth Coalition HomepageResponsible Growth Coalition

Encouraging transportation solutions consistent with safety, environmental, and wildlife core values.

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Pothole Boondoggle

RGC Boardmember letter to the editor of the JH News and Guide Jan. 10

On Dec. 6, WYDOT chose to repair potholes on the Highway 22 bridge during daylight hours.

Thank you WYDOT, those repairs were much needed. But I assume we will need pothole repair again in the near future due to heavy winter traffic. What are the better material options and repair processes for longer lasting fills, perhaps so this work is necessary only once a season? Considering the economic opportunity costs for these delays to the entire community, it might be prudent for WYDOT to budget for more appropriate solutions.

I read a notice posted in Buckrail on Dec. 5 advising the repairs would be conducted from noon to 2 p.m. and drivers should expect delays of 10 to 20 minutes.

Accordingly, on Dec. 6 I left Teton Village to return to town, anticipating a delay. OK, great, I have been advised. At Teton Pines, traffic came to a standstill and it took 45 minutes to reach the junction of highways 22 and 390.

As has happened repeatedly since the bridge work started in the spring, poor traffic light timing seems to be a significant contributing factor to this congestion.

Apparently, eastbound traffic coming from Wilson was halted in order to allow westbound traffic to proceed through the one open lane. However, eastbound traffic was backed up bumper to bumper to the west of the intersection, so when the light turned green for the southbound WY 390 traffic, no one could make a left turn onto 22. Hence, the delays were not acceptable. Several drivers reported travel times from Teton Village to Jackson of more than two hours.

Obviously, we have a problem here. How can we solve it?

We recommend that WYDOT not only invest in a coordinated system of smart traffic signaling, but also engage the services of our very competent Wyoming Highway Patrol and Teton County Sheriff for manual traffic management when demands are not able to be met with smart signaling alone. Also, considering the impact that these planned maintenance events have on traffic flow, nighttime operations must be considered and properly budgeted for any Teton County highway project.

There is no such thing as over-communicating when traffic is involved. Talk to the radio stations. Place public service announcements on the road and make sure law enforcement and/or other hired traffic controllers are involved every step of the way.

If WYDOT invests in better materials and coordinates and communicates better with our local officials when it comes to roadwork, then maybe we can get through this construction project without so much angst.

Lance Cygielman

Responsible Growth Coalition

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Paid Parking for Teton Pass?

A study on paid parking for Teton Pass sheds an interesting light on a more innovative way to manage traffic. Would you be willing to pay $10 per vehicle per day, or $60 for the season to park and ski on the pass? Or would you rather take a shuttle from Stilson or Victor?

The study suggested at a ride on the shuttle costing $5, or $25 for a season pass. At that rate, running a shuttle seven days a week in the winter from Stilson to Victor, without a paid parking system, would cost the operator some $380,000. But study authors estimate that, with a paid parking system, a subsidy of only $48,500 a year would be needed to make the shuttle system “financially self-sustaining.”

At lower levels of service, running a shuttle system in conjunction with a paid parking system would allow the whole operation to run in the green. For example, when combined with a paid parking system, running a winter shuttle seven days a week from Stilson to Coal Creek, rather than Stilson to Victor, would generate a $20,800 annual profit.

RGC is in favor of this idea and we are curious to hear your thoughts. Please email us at responsiblegrowthjh@gmail.com

https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/local/study-mulls-paid-parking-passes-for-teton-pass/article_1592f70a-6493-11ee-abdb-47cdad9f5375.html

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Gag order and blank check on Tribal Trails must be rescinded

By a 4-1 vote (with Luther Propst opposed), the Teton County Board of County Commissioners has abdicated its responsibility to our community by giving responsibility for planning the proposed Tribal Trails Connector to the state and federal government.

By the terms of a contract with the Wyoming Department of Transportation the board approved on March 21, “Teton County will give up sole decision-making authority on the project and will serve instead in an advisory capacity to WYDOT and FHWA through staff of Teton County Public Works.”

The decision on whether to build this county road will no longer be made by Teton County.

The last time a major highway project was proposed, the South Highway 89 expansion from South Park to Hoback Junction, our county staff and commissioners engaged. The Republicans and Democrats on the commission unanimously put forward a professionally drawn alternative for three lanes with turn lanes, rather than the five lanes we now have. Their alternative was less expensive, a narrower barrier for wildlife and less intrusive on the southern entrance to this special valley.

WYDOT refused to even consider the county alternative in its project evaluations. Today’s commissioners know that the state of Wyoming and WYDOT often do not consider local impacts. For example, they have failed to protect us from illegal and dangerous trucks on state Highway 22 over Teton Pass. It is just a matter of time before someone is killed.

The connector would require condemning private property — almost certainly requiring lawsuits. It is particularly difficult to condemn land where there is a conservation easement, which would be required.

According to the contract, the county must take on condemnation proceedings on private land as dictated by WYDOT’s decisions. According to this contract, the county must also commit to WYDOT’s preferred alternative and build the new highway or reimburse it at federal rates and overhead for all planning expenses.

At a minimum, land condemnation issues need to be resolved before writing WYDOT a blank check for planning costs.

Of great concern is the contract’s Section 7.S: “Any publicity given to the project or services provided herein including but not limited to notices, information, pamphlets, press releases, research reports, signs and similar public notices in whatever form, prepared by or for the county, shall identify WYDOT as the sponsoring agency and shall not be released without prior written approval from WYDOT.”

The commissioners have given up their ability to communicate on this project with their constituents, the people who elected them, unless they get WYDOT’s written permission. Essentially, the board has agreed to a gag order.

This contract is a terrible precedent for the decisions now being considered for expanding Highway 22. Will the county give up decision-making on this project as well? When Highway 22 expansion came up 20 years ago, county residents said no to WYDOT’s plan. We know improvements are needed, but why surrender decision-making to the state this early in the process?

This contract also makes it harder for the county to advocate for context sensitive solutions, such as design speed, traffic calming measures, vegetative strips or boulevards, in line with the community character provisions in our comprehensive plan.

Whether or not you think the Tribal Trail Connector is a good idea, turning over this much power to WYDOT at this time makes no sense. The county needs a fair local process for making this decision. The Board of County Commissioners needs to revisit this one-sided, potentially costly contract and rescind its approval.

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Gondola Could Relieve Traffic in Utah Ski Town

The Utah Department of Transportation is backing a gondola to solve Little Cottonwood Canyon’s transportation and congestion problems.

Wouldn’t it also be a good idea for Teton County to think out of the box? A gondola from Jackson Hole Airport to Teton Village could be more than just a pipe dream – it would be a vital transportation link while also providing a more enjoyable experience for Jackson Hole’s visitors.

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/udot-backs-gondola-option-for-little-cottonwood-canyon

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The Paradox of Tribal Trail Build Options

A letter to Teton County Commissioners from Responsible Growth Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Protect our Waters JH and Indian Springs Ranch HOA.

August 16, 2022

Dear Madam Chair Macker and Commissioners,

We are writing to object to the stated meeting purpose for tomorrow’s TTC Stakeholder Meeting, and ask that you broaden it. The agenda states:


Stakeholder Meeting #12 Purpose:

To review the results of the public meeting and identify a Stakeholder-preferred build alternative for recommendation to the project team. Per County Commission direction, County staff has said that it is tasked with providing a recommendation for a preferred build alternative for a proposed Tribal Trail connector. Once identified and presented to the Commission, the Staff says the Board is to vote on whether to proceed with the project.

The last Stakeholder Committee was told the same thing, and despite that, 7 out of 10 members of the committee voted for an alternative plan that provided solutions for emergency redundancy and other project objectives without putting thousands of vehicles through this sensitive meadow every day and increasing traffic on an already congested Highway 22. Several members of the committee were subsequently replaced in a fashion seen as biased by this group and many residents.

Why would the BCC direct the planners to choose a preferred build alternative rather than determine whether the road is feasible, what benefits it might provide, what it could cost, what the risks would be to the environment, and what alternatives exist? To insist that a choice is made is tantamount to asking if someone would prefer to drive or run off of a cliff. The committee has been tasked with making a choice when perhaps none are the right choice.

We were unable to find notes from BCC meetings directing the planners to choose a preferred build alternative. In fact, to our knowledge, The Board of County Commissioners actually did not give direction to the planners in over two years on this project. In that time:

  1. The extent and value of the wetlands was identified by BIOTA, whose analysis included a 2,000 year old fen that supports the surrounding wetlands, absorbs carbon emissions, and purifies waters that flow all the way down into the Snake, our single source aquifer.
  2. The Army Corps ruled that these wetlands are under federal jurisdiction, so their stringent process for securing a section 404 permit, including approval procedures, public comment (and dissent), wetlands mitigation, alternative consideration analyses, etc. will have to be followed if the commissioners vote for continuance.
  3. WYDOT has moved up their planning process for the WY22 corridor, so this potential project could and should be considered in the context of any plans that may include a road extension that would connect WYO 22 with South Park Loop Road.
  4. The Jackson Hole Land Trust has publicly stated that they do not want their easements picked at ‘piecemeal,’ but rather prefer to see a holistic plan for the corridor.
  5. Indian Springs Ranch HOA and the Land Trust have publicly said they are not in favor of modifying the easement, which leaves one route (the existing right of way) as the only option that doesn’t call for lawsuits and condemnation of wetlands under federal jurisdiction and conservation easement.
  6. That route on the right of way would require a new intersection, which undoubtedly would make HWY 22 worse even beyond the more than 6% volume increase that would be created by induced demand, per the County models.
  7. Traffic figures have not been updated since the BCC last weighed in on this project over 2 years ago, despite continued requests from the public to see updated models. Questions about traffic model assumptions such as how much pass through traffic would be anticipated go unanswered.
  8. The budget, to our knowledge, has not been updated in over 2 years. What was estimated to be a $7 million project could cost $15 million or more now.
  9. The recent survey of Teton County residents no resulted in 2/3 of the voters being against the road and 1/3 in favor. The No Build Option had approximately five times the support of any other option.
    We ask that ‘No-Build’ and/or ‘delay/incorporate into the WYDOT NEPA process for the corridor’ be considered as options, particularly given that the No-Build Option is the opinion of 2 /3 of residents who have submitted official public comment.

    Thank you,
    Responsible Growth Coalition
    Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance
    Protect our Waters JH
    Indian Springs Ranch HOA