On Friday I learned from a concerned citizen something that sounded so crazy I didn’t believe it. He told me that all state of Utah funding for the Mountain Accord was now coming from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). What’s GOED’s mission you ask? According to their website, “The mandate for this office is to provide …

Any time there is contention over the Mountain Accord, supporters of the idea will always say that the detractors shouldn’t focus on the transportation aspects… what the Accord is really about is the environment. I’ve been reading through the 13 pages of meeting minutes from an October joint meeting of the Summit County and Park City …

In October there was a joint meeting of the Park City and Summit County Councils to discuss the Mountain Accord. We’ve recently been provided with the meeting minutes and it’s a fascinating read. It provides great understanding of the positions by various council members and some of the outside forces at play. If you have time, …

Today on KPCW, Park City City Council Member Andy Beerman was talking Mountain Accord. At one moment he said: “I’m not terribly concerned about us having veto power over this… We are not ceding our land use authority to the Mountain Accord. So if Park City or Summit County decides they are opposed to something …

This morning, KPCW’s Lynn Ware Peak talked to Park City City Council person Andy Beerman about Mountain Accord. His response to a question regarding “vetoing” a tunnel from Brighton to Park City was interesting… Lynn Ware Peak (KPCW): So if you go through the whole [Mountain Accord] process do you maintain the veto power? Andy Beerman: I’m …

Listening to Lynn Ware Peak this morning on KPCW it became clear that people in opposition to Mountain Accord need to change their strategy. The image that is being painted by media and politicians is that the only reason people don’t like Mountain Accord is because they are focusing on the tunnel between Brighton and …

I was having dinner with a friend last night when talk shifted to Mountain Accord. She doesn’t really follow the Accord closely but asked me if I thought “this whole tunnel nonsense” was really just the “old cock and thumb.” I gave her that look that says, “I don’t know what you are talking about but …

A Friend of the Park Rag sent through an interesting document from 2006, that discusses transportation options in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I find two things truly interesting in the document. First, many of the same players who are part of the Mountain Accord now were part of this study then, namely Lochner and Fehr & Peers. Second, …

In response to our article on the Mountain Accord Blueprint, a reader sent an email with the subject: Full Employment Act for Consultants. I thought the person was joking but then looked at an attachment that was included. I’m not laughing any more. Here appear to be the outside consultants, as listed in various system …

Did you think the Mountain Accord came from nowhere — that it was a product of immaculate conception. Naively, I guess I did. I envisioned a group of people sitting around a table throwing out ideas. Arguing. Agreeing. Compromising. Then finally devising a solution to our watershed issues in the Wasatch. However, recently I was searching …