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Brighton Council signs onto canyon environmental comment, urges flexible tolling and bus-priority measures
Summary
The Brighton Town Council voted to join Cottonwood Heights’ comment letter on the Central Wasatch environmental assessment, asking that tolling placement avoid displacing parking into residential neighborhoods and urging flexible bus-priority measures and pilot approaches to mitigate canyon traffic.
The Brighton Town Council on Jan. 13 authorized the mayor to sign a comment letter on the Central Wasatch environmental assessment, endorsing shared concerns about Tolling and urging flexibility in placement and operations to limit spillover parking into residential areas.
The move came amid multiple public comments from canyon residents worried about the effects of tolling and roadway widening. Jolene Disbane told the council the EA’s proposed 38-foot cross-section and a 4-foot median could require property acquisitions and reduce snow-storage capacity, and urged the agencies to consider lower-impact fixes such as a bus-priority pilot that alternates bus and car movements using a bus-activated light. “The road is narrow because the canyon is narrow,” Disbane said during a staff reading of submitted comments.
Council members said they support a unified regional response. One member moved that Brighton sign onto Cottonwood Heights’ letter; the council approved the motion unanimously and asked staff to file the comment before the Jan. 19 deadline.
The council flagged two specific requests for staff to carry forward: ask UDOT/central-wasatch planners for operational flexibility on toll locations if initial placement causes parking displacement, and press for clearer toll-revenue use so communities know how any toll funds will be spent. Council members and residents also urged that any tolling plan include on-the-ground adjustments as problems emerge, such as moving toll points or changing bus routing to discourage vehicle spillover to neighborhood lots.
Detective Anna Walker of the Unified Police Department described the current operational problem: in December UPD responded to 243 calls in Brighton, including 26 parking complaints and multiple towed/stuck vehicles. “We’ve heard a lot of complaints about the flow of traffic specifically in the afternoons as residents are attempting to get to their homes,” Walker said, noting that enforcement on a public road is legally and practically complicated.
Residents also raised concerns about restroom planning at Cardiff Fork and about how tolling could create hardship for residents who must have regular service deliveries or guests. Barbara, a resident who spoke during public input, asked the council to press UDOT and the Forest Service to retain sewered restrooms at Cardiff rather than install vault toilets.
What’s next: the town’s mayor will sign the letter and staff will follow up with Central Wasatch Commission staff (Devon Meader was named by council members as the staff contact) to emphasize the council’s requests for flexible toll placement, clear revenue uses, and pilot bus-priority measures before final design decisions are made.
