Cables and Rails 

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• Spencer Heaps | Pool Photo
• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to reporters at PBS Utah on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.

UNIVERSITY—A controversial proposal to build a gondola to the Alta and Snowbird ski resorts in Little Cottonwood Canyon—at taxpayer expense—earned a ringing endorsement from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday, who credited highway planners for considering a phased-in approach to the mammoth transportation project.

"What’s really brilliant about this decision by [the Utah Department of Transportation] is that they will be implementing the bus solution first," Cox said, during a taping of his monthly televised press conference at PBS Utah.

The gondola project is estimated to cost between $500 million and $600 million to build—before operational costs—and has drawn vocal opposition from both Salt Lake County residents and elected leaders. Opponents say the project would merely shift vehicle congestion to the mouth of the canyon—where a massive parking facility would be built—while failing to serve non-skiing activities such as hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking and even the summer and autumnal programming at the ski resorts, like Snowbird's popular Oktoberfest.

The cost to build the gondola is similar to estimates around construction of the "Rio Grande Plan," a proposal to transform downtown Salt Lake City and the state's freight and transit networks by burying rail lines in a so-called "train box" and reactivating the historic Rio Grande Depot in lieu of the Utah Transit Authority's inaccessible an uninviting Intermodal Hub on 600 West. The plan, crafted by a pair of private citizens and drawn from research into similar projects in neighboring states (like one in Denver that has catalyzed an economic boom), has no formal backing by city government but has increasingly drawn support from Salt Lake politicians, planners and urban advocates.

When asked about the comparable cost of the two projects, Cox said he had not yet looked into the Rio Grande Plan, but intends to.

"We’re always open to the best ideas and the best decision out there," Cox said. "There is nothing about this [gondola] decision that forecloses any future decision or future opportunities."

Cox has repeatedly voiced support for non-car transportation initiatives. During the summer, he suggested that free transit fares could be a tool to fight the impact of high inflation and on Thursday, he noted that he is "very much a fan" of connecting Salt Lake City to Boise, Idaho, and Las Vegas, Nevada, by passenger rail.

Federal rail administrators are exploring investment in the American West—accelerated by the recent bipartisan infrastructure bill—and last month, highway officials in Utah, Nevada and Idaho expressed formal interest in reestablishing regional connections, known as the Desert Wind (SLC-Vegas) and Intermountain (SLC-Boise) corridors. But that expression of interest is merely the first step in a long chain of events before Utah could see new passenger lines in the state, according to UDOT spokesman John Gleason.

"It’s a cool concept," Gleason said, "and we’re definitely supportive of further exploration."

On Thursday, Cox criticized the burdensome permitting and regulatory process that has stymied infrastructure projects in the United States. He suggested the country had stopped building things, with the U.S. now trying to catch up to the nations of Europe and Asia, where high-speed rail is abundant and popular. For things like the Rio Grande Plan or regional rail to happen, he said, government needs to "get out of the way."

"Those are the types of conversations and planning that we absolutely should be doing," Cox said. "I would love nothing more than to have some sort of high-speed rail transportation between Salt Lake City and St. George. I believe it can happen in my lifetime, and hopefully before I'm too old."

Thursday's press conference also saw Cox emphasizing the harms of social media and screen time, particularly for children. He called for legislation aimed at social media companies, for schools to beef up their phone-free policies and for parents to make an effort to exhibit healthy behaviors.

"Having [your phone] separated, even by just a few feet, can make a big difference in learning outcomes and—hopefully, looking at the data—in mental health outcomes as well," Cox said.

Cox also announced that he was anticipating the release of an affordable housing proposal in the coming weeks and that he would be advocating for a new round of tax cuts during the upcoming legislative session and calling for a tuition freeze at Utah's higher education institutions.

Asked whether the Utah System of Higher Education was supportive of a tuition freeze, Cox responded: "They will be."