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

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Gag order and blank check on Tribal Trails must be rescinded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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RGC Comments to 4/27/22 Open House

RGC’s Review of the County’s Tribal Trail Connector Open House 4/27/22

The Tribal Trail Connector (TTC) project continues apace, without regard to any of the material issues and problems with this project:

  1. The latest public presentation, held in the form of exhibits displayed at an open house on April 27, reflects a glaring lack of data and rigorous analysis, which is appalling, given the stakes, and basically disregarded the “No Build” option.
  2. County Staff do not know the total cost of the TTC, nor have offered any evidence of tangible benefits to justify its cost.
  3. The financial cost is likely to be at least $15-20mm, EXCLUDING the cost of eventual condemnation and lawsuits, which could easily double or triple this number.
  4. In the meantime Staff have allocated a further $850,000 to the TTC in the upcoming budget.

Staff have steadfastly ignored these important issues, either because they are being directed to by the four commissioners who want this road regardless of the consequences, or they are simply not competent enough to deal with them.

There are several other alternative measures to alleviate our summer traffic congestion, which would be much more effective and less expensive than the TTC. Why the County isn’t pursuing these opportunities is a mystery.

More important, we encourage you to stop thinking the TTC may be inevitable. If you oppose it, please get involved. Responsible Growth Coalition and JH Conservation Alliance are fully engaged in challenging this folly of a project and ask you to join us. There is still time and opportunity to defeat the TTC.

So please act now, and submit your own comments. Vote “No Build,” the only sensible option. Thank you.

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The following are the issues identified, and open questions raised by the content of the exhibits displayed at the Open House:

  1. The TTC’s right of way grant is subject to a wetlands study. A document entitled “Memo for TC/WYDOT hydrology analysis” provided by Jacobs Engineering has been sharply criticized and called into question in a review by Clearwater Geosciences.
  2. Staff have disregarded the “No Build” option in their evaluation of the alternatives.
  3. Shifting the TTC roadway west takes it outside the boundary of the easement, therefore not an option.
  4. The wetlands analysis cited has been discredited in a review by Clearwater Geosciences. The conclusion set forth here is false.
  5. The redundancy argument put forth by Staff contains no definition of a “catastrophic occurrence,” nor if/when if there ever has been one in our community. No indication of how does the TTC reduce the likelihood of such an event, nor how much shorter transit times as defined here would be. There is no data or analysis to support this claim. There is no description of how emergency vehicles, most of which are in the town of Jackson, benefit from using the TTC and under what circumstances.
  6. The Y: why isn’t further increasing its capacity considered? That would be much less expensive than building the TTC, which in fact would not reduce congestion at all. The Y’s capacity was increased by WYDOT’s upgrade in 2017, eliminating it as the top bottleneck. As a result, the Spring Gulch and Moose-Wilson Rd junctions have emerged as bottlenecks. Those need to be addressed more urgently than the Y does.
  7. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) for trips from points west to the school district would indeed be lower, but Vehicle Time Traveled (VTT) would not, due to induced demand. Even without induced demand, a trip from Teton Village to the schools would only be reduced by a minute or two (5-10%), not worth the TTC’s expense and environmental impact. How does the County justify conferring a minor, if any, benefit to a group of commuters at the expense of all valley residents, especially those in affected neighborhoods? Also, “5% reduction in trips through the Y in 2045” is highly unreliable, and even if it weren’t, certainly not worth the TTC’s cost.
  8. Congestion at the Y continues to be disingenuously used as justification for the Y – because it was relieved when the Y upgraded in 2017.
  9. Redundancy already exists: emergency vehicles (EVs) can travel through ISR or on the bike path, although this is unlikely to be used much since most EVs are in the town of Jackson.
  10. Much is made of the USA Today survey from 2019, which is largely irrelevant. The scope of the survey appears to be limited to the town of Jackson. What would be the impact of being in 1347th place in terms that matter? How much better ranked would Jackson be with the TTC? Isn’t the ranking based on number of ways to exit the area? If so, how does the TTC have any impact on that? (It doesn’t). This point is a perfect reflection of how dependent Staff is on unsupported opinions and assertions. Citing this survey is absurd, and highlights Staff’s lack of professionalism.
  11. Other than bypassing the Y, what else is there? What is the benefit to START to have its buses bypass the Y? How much time and money is saved? Staff haven’t provided anything that would answer these reasonable questions.
  12. Evaluation of the proposed alternatives: the level 1 and 2 screening exercises are shoddy and of no value. Ranking the alternatives was based on hired consultants’ opinion of the potential benefit of the TTC against different criteria/objectives. This approach says nothing about how much actual, tangible benefit any alternative would deliver. For all we know, none does, and the rankings simply indicate the least worst.
  13. Feasibility of the alternatives: three of the four alternatives would cross easements held by ISR, TSS, and JHLT. We understand ISR and JHLT will not grant the County such access, and have advised them accordingly. That leaves the alternative which would join WY22 at the end of the bike path. WYDOT would not accept an additional intersection so close to Coyote Canyon unless the north entrance of ISR is closed, which could trigger an expensive lawsuit. Bottom line: only the “No Build” is feasible.

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Can we Halt a Half Mile of Red Tape, and End Expensive Political Promises for Good?

This article by Jake Nichols appeared on JHpress.com on April 21, 2022. He really says it like it is. Please come to the open house April 27 from 4:30-6:30pm at the Teton County Public Library to voice your opinion.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — An open house is scheduled for the Tribal Trails Connector—a project hated by everyone not in government. The meeting will take place Wednesday, April 27.

After approving the controversial shortcut through Indian Trails two years ago, the county has been busy dealing with COVID and hiring issues to devote much time to how it might look and function and, more importantly, how to pay for it.

Envisioned as far back as 1982, the 0.5-mile of unfinished road would have connected with Highway 22. It just never got done. Now, it has become a political football, traffic solution boilerplate, and microcosm argument for or against growth. All that for a forgotten 2,600-ft stretch of road way through the sagebrush.

In county planners’ minds, when it comes to housing, you keep digging when you find yourself in a hole. When it comes to traffic, the only solution to excessive bleeding is to purchase more Band-Aids. (Maybe it’s past time to address the cause and severity of the injury).

Tribal Trails connector is one of the few growth items faced by the community that is not merely officiated by government but generated by government. Usually town or county planners present what one guy wants to do with his property that is either legal or quasi-legal while elected town or county officials referee and pontificate for three hours or three meetings before they pronounce judgement.

In this case it is government itself with their planner panties in a bunch over getting more asphalt down.

Everyone loves a shortcut, even it if has speed bumps, kids at play signs, and a long red light waiting at the end. (Teton County GIS)

Redundancy sounds so close to dunce

“Redundancy and reduction,” they spew into their bullhorns.

Fresh out of schools where treatises like Modeling Transportation Network Redundancy are part of the standard course workload, transportation planners point to a dire need for ambulances to be able find several different routes in answering that 911 call.

For example, a homeowner in Skyline opens his property tax notice and goes into immediate cardiac arrest. At exactly the same time, Griz 399 and her cubs create a monster bear jam at the Highway 22/Spring Gulch junction where the world’s slowest traffic light has two semis of cattle trucks from the Mead Ranch already backed up with cows bawling in the heat.

Now what?

Want to study up on something meaningful, kids? Every traffic analysis ever done has proven adding roads, widening roads does not magically alleviate existing congestion, it invites more.

Yes, Tribal Trails connector will allow a shit pile of smart drivers in their shiny SUVs to skirt the busy Y intersection on a Friday at 5:30pm where Teslas and Lexuses on Broadway are stacked back to Wendy’s drive-thru, which is also snaked completely around the building and spilling out onto Broadway back to town square.

But these same woke motorists will have to merge onto the Highway 22 summer parking lot sooner or later—presumably at a new traffic light intersection created across from Teton Science Schools, where first-year teachers have actually been tenured and retired while waiting to make a left out of there to go home.

Problem solved, as long as St. John’s Health gets working on that 911 drone service program.

Almost there…just a little longer to the next traffic light. (Google Maps)

Reducing miles travelled

Just the fact that there’s a government acronym for something called Vehicle Miles of Travels (VMT) should clue in even the most bollixed among us we are about to enter the spin zone.

“Most of Teton County traffic growth is made up of local traffic associated with short trips,” county traffic engineers say. Well, yeah, plus tourist driving associated with long trips. Plus, locals going on long trips. Plus, visitors taking a short drive. Plus, all the traffic generated by locals and visitors alike driving from restaurant to restaurant only to be told they were booked out for that Tuesday night 4 months ago.

The way to manage these naughty VMTs, according to the ITP, is to—WTF?—make more roads. Huh? Here’s another acronym at play: TBTF, as in Too Big To Fail. The county is too far down this unfinished road, financially, to surrender now. Heck, they even had a logo designed for the road to nowhere…so you know they’re serious about this.

To manage traffic growth and reduce VMT, the ITP calls for “more productive use of road and street capacity.” Substitute “productive use” with “increase” and we get a clearer picture of the game plan.

Building more roads and bigger roads will reduce emissions and petroleum use (that’s actually alleged in the county reading materials) like buying a bigger flat screen TV, and putting another one in the bedroom, will cut down on the time you spend on Netflix.

Just look at how Dallas, Texas has ‘roaded’ itself right out of a potential traffic problem. They build highways there faster than Waze can add them to its GPS software so that now, getting around the Dallas-Ft. Worth-Plano-Garland-Irving-Arlington urban complex has never been easier.

Dodge Ramming it through

When the county trotted this out the first time, they got caught with their eye on the prize, visualizing an end game before all their Subarus were in a row. The original draft plan had several alternatives for how a Tribal Trails connector would look and feel except for the one solution eventually preferred by everyone in Indian Trails and other affected neighborhoods: take no action. Even the Park and Forest Service have learned to stick that one in on the bottom of their lists of preferred alternatives.

It wasn’t public outcry, really, that stalled progress on Tribal Trails for the past two years. It was more the price tag (estimated $17M for the most expensive half-mile ever built) and the timing: How to connect with Highway 22 when WYDOT has not yet begun their major overhaul of the busiest two-lane in the state?

But the issue is back on the front burner. Once again affected neighbors will have to take off work, coordinate efforts, and try to stop the bulldozers. Those without a dog in the fight will either remain ambivalent or be reeled in by the pretty promises of government, mouthpieced by the pro-growth News&Guide who actually had this to say in an editorial a day after the June 2, 2020 greenlight to move forward was given by county commissioners:

“…it took political fortitude to maintain momentum in the face of predictable opposition by county residents.” —News&Guide editors

Political fortitude (gag)? So, ignoring the voice of the people and jamming its agenda through is the BCC showing “political fortitude?”

Pro-connectors say the road is just an unrealized vision planned 40 years ago. So was the idea back in the ’60s and ’70s that no one needed sidewalks or bike paths in downtown Jackson. Now we spend millions every year correcting that poor vision of the future.

They also say let’s just do it now before costs rise even higher. That’s the rationale of a pressure-to-buy car salesman or the pushy real estate agent.

“Someone else has their eye on this beauty, better act now.”

Time only will tell whether a shortcut through a tranquil residential neighborhood will shave even 20 seconds off your commute to Driggs or your ski run to the Village. The Y will still be jampacked, 22 will still be a parking lot, while another neighborhood chokes on the exhaust.

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What is a Fen?

What is a Fen?

A fen is a groundwater-dependent peat layer within a wetland, which takes centuries to form (one inch every 100 years). It creates a unique watershed that is home to rare flora and fauna. There are multiple fens in the Yellowstone ecosystem, but the one we are most concerned about is right here in our backyard.

The fen, located in the north end of the Tribal Trail Scenic Pathway, is 12 inches thick, or 1200 years old. This is “young” compared to most fens in the Rocky Mountains, which are more than 6,000 years old.

Why is a fen important?

A fen is an irreplaceable ecosystem, which counteracts global warming naturally by capturing CO2, recycling nutrients, trapping eroding soil, and filtering out pollutants to create hotbeds of diverse flora and fauna
Globally, peatlands store carbon and nitrogen, retaining about one-third of the world’s soil carbon and 16 to 28 percent of the world’s soil nitrogen while occupying only 3 to 4 percent of the Earth’s surface
Dozens of rare plant and animal species are supported by fens
Fens require stable hydrological conditions which are important for their water storage and release capacities – activities that disturb the groundwater-dependent hydrological regime of a fen, causing drying or warming, can permanently damage, or destroy them


To learn more about Fens in the Rocky Mountains, read this USDA study.