Access Improvement Planning

Beginning in October 2019, Summit County and Basin Recreation convened a group of partner agencies to address congestion issues at trailheads. The group’s objective was to develop approaches to address the congestion challenges with input from the public. In June 2020, Basin Recreation and Summit County hosted a public forum called The Future of Trails to present preliminary strategies developed by this group. Members of the public provided feedback at the forum and following the meeting, Basin staff continued the discussion with Summit County Council.

The Council directed Basin Recreation to regulate the congested parking areas and increase enforcement staff capacity, specifically, in the Sun Peak neighborhood to mitigate parking congestion near Rob’s Trailhead and in Summit Park where trail parking and emergency egress routes overlap. At the same time, a Multi-Disciplinary Group was convened with the County’s planning, transportation, public works, and law enforcement staff among others. The plan (linked below) is the draft version of Basin Recreation’s plan (as vetted by the Multi-Disciplinary Group) to continue access planning work. When finalized, it will guide improvements for the next year, while Basin Recreation also works on incorporating long term access improvements into its trails and open space planning process.

Trails and Open Space Short-Term Access Improvement Plan

Basin Recreation has received many emails, phone calls, and comments during the access planning process that have informed the document presented above. Leaving your feedback in the comment area below will help staff finalize the plan now with the added detail for short term strategies. The information will be discussed with the Summit County Council and Basin Recreation’s Administrative Control Board before it is finalized. Please keep in mind that this is the first step in a longer process and staff will continue to accept and review feedback for this and future planning efforts.