Another ski season is approaching. And with it, the weekday convergence of school and industry traffic that routinely turns Kearns Boulevard into a parking lot each morning and each afternoon.  

It may be time to revisit an idea bandied about for years but never acted upon — employing that unused middle lane for traffic ingress each morning and egress each afternoon. This simple solution can mitigate traffic congestion, as evidenced by the “part-time” extra traffic lane recently opened on I-15 at the Nevada-California border.

The same gas-powered vehicle traveling at a steady 35 miles per hour for 5 minutes spews out less greenhouse gases than the same vehicle starting/stopping/idling for 30 to 45 minutes. The counter-argument — that daily traffic jams discourage commuter traffic, incentivizing alternative travel options and thereby decreasing pollution — while sounding good, has failed in Park City.  

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So somebody, somewhere — local politicians, UDOT officials — should reconsider this simple solution. Open up that empty middle lane for students, for parents, for resort industry workers and for the planet.  

Michael McKenna

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Park City