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Salt Lake City officials are considering a carpool system in which strangers ride together in personal cars. Pictured here are skiers and snowboarders at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Snowbird, Utah. Chris Detrick / The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
A so-called “casual” or “slugging” carpool system — in which strangers ride together in personal cars — that’s already popular in other major cities is being discussed as a way to alleviate traffic congestion up through Little Cottonwood Canyon during ski season.
Salt Lake County Council members Councilmen Max Burdick, Richard Snelgrove and Sam Granato have proposed the people-driven ridesharing as a way to combat the hour-long delays skiers can face during the high season, The Deseret News reported.
The proposal is uncommon in that it’s not a plan the council would implement. Instead the ridesharing would be “people powered.” Snelgrove said the program wouldn’t be regulated or managed, but someone needs to spark the idea.
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” he said.
The practice of “slugging” is common in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco where commuters use it as a way to use carpool lanes. The practice has been established in some areas for more than 20 years and in San Francisco, officials have even installed signs designating destination-specific areas for people to line up for a ride.
Snelgrove said ski resort officials have expressed interest in the program and perhaps providing preferential parking as an incentive since there is no carpool lane on the way up the mountain.
“Someone has already decided to drive their car up there, so why not fill it up on the way up?” Burdick said.
The county took no formal action but Snelgrove said he will continue working to organize the effort. He suggested forming a group of interested council members to develop the concept ahead of this winter’s ski season.
Source: skift.com