| By Geoff Gottlieb Incredibly, the proposed Tribal Trail Connector (TTC) capital project is still alive, even though for the past four years virtually all the facts and data-based arguments made in relation to the TTC have come from parties who are concerned about its costs versus benefits to the community. Those in favor of the TTC have been unwilling or, more likely, unable, to make any such argument, resorting to outdated and unsubstantiated assertions, such as “we need it for safety,” “it will alleviate traffic at the Y”, “we need it to protect our children,“ “we need it in the event of an emergency evacuation,” etc, etc. County Staff, which is biased in favor of the TTC, even though it relies on the work of no less than three independent consulting firms at a cost to the county of approximately $730,000 this fiscal year alone, has failed to make up for this shortcoming, probably because there are no compelling benefits from the TTC to justify its financial and environmental costs. On this basis alone, the TTC project should be cancelled when the Commissioners meet on June 2 to vote on whether or not to proceed to the next planning phase. If the Commissioners vote to proceed, then they should at least address some, if not all, of the reasonable arguments made to date by the parties concerned about the TTC’s impact on our community. If that is too big an ask, they should at least have the decency to recognize that allocating another $1,000,000 to TTC planning is inappropriate on so many levels. The TTC has been reclassified as “non-essential”, and the expected loss of revenue due to the pandemic has required significant operating and capital budget cuts (which may mean the money is not there). Yet the Commissioners see fit to make this allocation while cutting essential services such as fire/ems. It is ironic that one of the key arguments made in favor of the TTC is safety, specifically redundancy for fire/ems. In addition, the County has yet to fill the open position of regional transportation director, which one would assume is important for the continued implementation of the recently updated ITP. As published in the Jackson Hole News and Guide on March 20, 2020 |
Press Pause on Tribal Trail Connector
Tribal Trail stakeholders want to pump brakes on controversial connector
SPET Meeting: January 23, 2017, 2-5pm
The projects proposed for the 2017 SPET include $5M to design and construct a Tribal Trails connector AND purchase land for and design an East-West connector through South Park in the next 4 years.
This project had previously been put on hold until a traffic study and modeling was completed and analyzed. However, Teton County’s staff and elected officials are putting construction of these roads on the fast track for funding with complete disregard for their promises and to whether these roads will solve any problems.
On Monday, January 23 from 2-5 PM there’s a meeting in the County Commission Chambers to consider public comments on the proposed ballot of projects for this upcoming SPET vote in May. See full agenda and documentation.
We URGE YOU to attend this meeting to oppose inclusion of these new roads in the SPET. Make it clear that you want them to honor their commitment to complete the vital studies they have promised before turning a conservation area into a bypass. Community action is our power.
• Keep your promise to first conduct a traffic study
• Let WYDOT first improve the Y intersection
• Public funds should not be used or to benefit private developers
• Sufficient emergency access to South Park already exists
Learn more about these specific reasons to oppose this SPET project
If you are unable to attend the meeting, please send in written comment to the County Commissioners and Town Councilors at these email addresses: commissioners@tetonwyo.org
council@townofjackson.com
Why invest public funds in a new road when there is no proven need for such a road?
Read about the current SPET initiatives and documentation for the January 23 meeting.
Please attend.