Emigration Canyon council keeps 11-foot travel lanes after heated public comments on striping and surface

Emigration Canyon Community Council members voted to keep 11-foot travel lanes on the unstriped section below Merrifield Lane and directed county maintenance staff to repaint and correct striping errors after a lengthy public comment period and an engineering presentation.

The decision came after roughly two hours of public comment about lane width, resurfacing quality and cyclist behavior, and after MSD (Metropolitan Service District) engineering staff summarized relevant design guidance and recent crash- and traffic-count data. Tamara Woodland, engineering manager for MSD, said the engineering recommendation was “11 lane widths” based on AASHTO guidance and regional traffic volumes.

Why it matters: residents, commuters, cyclists and emergency responders all use Emigration Canyon Road; narrow lanes and unclear striping have heightened conflict, according to speakers. Council members said more work is needed on enforcement, education and on the road surface itself before pursuing narrower travel lanes.

Council context and engineering advice MSD engineering staff told the council they referenced the AASHTO “green book” and Wasatch Front Regional Council traffic maps in assessing lane width. Ian Hartman, MSD traffic engineer (PTOE), said traffic volumes on the canyon vary by day and that AASHTO’s…