Letters to the Editor – Park Record 2/7/09

Treasure Hill plans concern Historical Sociey

Editor:

The Park City Historical Society is dedicated to “Preserving, Protecting, and Promoting Park City’s History and Heritage.” The board of trustees of this organization fully supports this statement.

We applaud the hundreds of historic-property owners who have preserved, protected and promoted our history and heritage with their sensitive restorations, additions and infill buildings as outlined in the Park City Historic District Guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior Guidelines for Historic Districts. Both documents advocate compatibility of new construction with our turn-of-the-century mining vernacular. The board of trustees is very concerned about the incompatibility of the size, scope, height and massing of the Treasure Hill development as currently proposed, and its significant impact on historic Park City.

Also of concern is the additional traffic that obviously will be generated in constructing, servicing and filling this large project. The district’s narrow residential side streets, street layout, and existing structure configuration were not designed to accommodate a development of this magnitude. The topography of the district is especially inhospitable to large vehicles like cement trucks and fire engines. The safety, health and quality of life of Old Town residents should be of consideration.

We urge a solution to this decades-old agreement that will allow historic Park City to maintain its standing as “the jewel” of our community.

Richard D. Pick

Chair, board of trustees,

Park City Historical Society

When approving project, consider the children

Editor:

Twenty-three years ago Park City was a different town, but 23 years ago a project was put together called the Treasure Hill project. In retrospect, who could have predicted where we are now? In 1986 I was 4 and I was riding my bike up and down Empire Avenue. Although it was steep, the road was safe enough for me to walk my bike over the last steep hill to my great grandmother’s home at the top of Empire. In 1986, there were places to play between spaces and yards between homes. Now a yard or any sort of green space is considered a rare luxury. The density on Empire is now to capacity with no space to safely move snow and ice in the winter and the driving conditions are dangerous any time of the year due to density.

My family is fifth generation Park City, and we have owned at one time or another seven different houses on Empire. Today we own five houses including my great grandmother’s home where my husband and I live. Although Empire is known more as Old Town, there are still children living on the street, in the same safe neighborhood my brother and I grew up in.

Beyond the logistical problems of running thousands of trucks up and down the streets during construction, the Treasure Hill project will take away the feeling of safe roads. We also must consider the horrific impact to the air quality and the inevitable noise pollution. Also, there is a safety factor of getting emergency responders to the area both fire or medical with large trucks and a larger population that is in the area. As I begin planning my own family on Empire Avenue, I want my children (the sixth generation living on Empire) to feel safe riding their bicycles to their grandparents and great-grandmother’s homes. As a parent I would be very saddened by the fact that I would consistently worry about my children’s safety in my own front yard because of dump trucks and semi trucks. I have seen semi trucks reverse down Empire because they could not make the turn to Lowell. The small streets, the snow, and the parking congestion make it nearly impossible to navigate both Lowell and Empire avenues. I urge all citizens young, old, one-year residents or 100 year residents, to come together and fight this project not only to protect the children, but all citizens and tourists who ride their bikes and walk on these streets and to protect the integrity of this small community

Tana Toly Ireland

Old Town Park City