Hello Andy, Nann, Becca, Tim, Steve, and Max,

This is Bo Pitkin. I’m here before you today, because I’m very concerned that Park City is missing an opportunity with the current Kearns Blvd – SR248 resurfacing and restriping project to make it a “Complete Street” with safe and efficient travel for vehicles, buses, bikes and pedestrians. It’s my understanding that UDOT has NO plan to include safe bike lanes or even just safe shoulders for both non-motorized or electrically motorized bikes in the sections of Kearns – SR 248 between Sidewinder Drive and Wyatt Earp Way on either the school or the Prospector neighborhood sides of the street (See the UDOT SR-248 Stripping Plans).

In 2008 I was a member of the Park City “Walking and Biking Advisory Liaison Committee” aka WALC. The committee was tasked with appropriating the 15 million dollar Walkable Bikeable Community Bond. Item #4 of our list of suggested improvements was to “Provide Bike Facilities on Kearns Blvd”. At the time, we the committee, decided that since this was a UDOT road that the city would have to work with UDOT to provide these bike facilities in the future…..well the future is now!

UDOT could easily design Kearns – SR 248 for bike lanes or safe shoulders for biking. Most of Kearns – SR 248 already has a paved shoulders on the south side between Sidewinder Drive and Wyatt Earp Way, except for a couple hundred-yard section between Cooke Drive and Comstock Drive, where someone installed what I like to call the “Dumbest Fire Hydrant Ever”.

This fire hydrant doesn’t make any sense, because it’s way too close to the drive lane and will probably get hit, but primarily it blocks the entire south side shoulder of Kearns – SR 248, not only to be able to install a bike lane or safe shoulder to bike on, but also blocks the ability for emergency vehicles to use the shoulder or to use that shoulder as an evacuation lane if there’s a wildfire or other issue in Park City.
UDOT could easily move this fire hydrant back, pave this shoulder section of Kearns – SR 248 which would widen the road at least 6’-8’, shift the center of the road to the south and provide at least 3’-4’ wide bike lanes or safe paved shoulders on both sides of the street for both non-motorized and electrically motorized bikes to safely travel from Sidewinder Drive to Wyatt Earp Way on Kearns – SR 248.

It would be a shame if we did not take advantage of a current resurfacing and restriping project on Kearns SR-248 this summer to provide safe bike facilities and solve a non-motorized transportation problem that was Issue #4 from the 2008 WALC project list. It would be a tragedy if a cyclist got hit, hurt or worse on Kearns SR-248 in the future because it didn't have bike lanes or safe shoulders for bikers!

I’m asking you to please do whatever you can to work with UDOT immediately to figure out a way to provide safe bike lane or safe shoulders for bikers on Kearns – SR 248.

Thank you for your time and effort

David “Bo” Pitkin