Kanab, Utah — Utah Department of Transportation staff demonstrated a new “Roads to Recreation” website and outreach campaign on Wednesday aimed at reducing congestion around Zion National Park by directing visitors to transit, parking resources and active‑transportation options.

Chris Hall, UDOT region planner, said the Roads to Recreation effort began after the agency adapted tools used in congested ski corridors and sought to tailor them to heavy recreational traffic near Zion. The site is a “one‑stop shop” that aggregates trip planning resources, real‑time parking and transit links, bike‑etiquette guidance and maps of active‑transportation routes, Hall said.

SunTran transit and a 10‑year guarantee

Commission discussion with staff focused on the transit link into Zion. Hall told the commission that the transit link from communities across Washington County into Zion was established with a $10 million allocation from the department’s recreation hot‑spot funding in about 2017 (staff cited 2017/2018 as the funding point). As Hall explained, SunTran committed to operate the service for 10 years using that commission‑allocated money, meaning the transit line will run through that funded period while its longer‑term performance is evaluated.

"We have a for-sure 10‑year period where we will have transit to Zion National Park," Hall said, while adding that SunTran will reassess service after that period.

Sunday service, ridership tracking and bike policy

Commissioners asked whether the service runs on Sundays. Hall said the pilot began the Memorial Day prior to the meeting and has completed roughly one summer of operation; he did not have the ridership numbers at hand but said site visits had numbered in the “several thousand” and that he would provide specific metrics to commissioners on request. He also said SunTran does not presently run the route on Sundays and that staffing constraints have been cited by the operator; Hall said the issue had been raised with SunTran but no change had been announced.

Hall and other staff emphasized parking information and social‑media alerts as part of the campaign to reduce congestion caused by motorists seeking parking in Springdale and other access points. The website includes links to Springdale’s parking guidance and a map of where buses are on the transit route.

Public comments and oversized vehicles

During public comment, Kane County Commissioner Celeste Myers and two county colleagues told the commission that oversized vehicles arriving from the county’s east side — including dual‑rear‑wheel trucks towing trailers, RVs and tour buses — are being stranded because of park restrictions in Zion, and that a local connector to reach the park’s shuttle system had not secured sufficient funding to be ready by a June start date. Myers said the county was continuing to work with UDOT and the park to identify options. UDOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras told the commission the department would continue to coordinate with the county and the park, calling the change a "changed condition" that will require joint work to resolve.

What the commission acted on

The Roads to Recreation briefing was informational; commissioners did not take a direct vote on the Roads-to-Recreation web or outreach work at the Kanab session. Separately, commissioners had previously approved the recreation-hot-spot funding that underwrote the SunTran service; Hall cited that prior action when describing the 10‑year commitment. Hall said staff would provide ridership statistics, site‑visit counts and other metrics to commissioners upon request.