Park City's aging China Bridge parking garage jumped to the front of the line on Friday, Aug. 21, as the council unanimously agreed the crumbling structure is the city's most urgent redevelopment challenge, with the 2034 Winter Olympics as a hard deadline.

The southern portion of the Swede Alley garage has just five to 10 years of structural life left, city staff told the council at the work session. A replacement or redevelopment of China Bridge would go hand-in-hand with aerial transit plans, including a gondola the council supported connecting Main Street to Deer Valley Resort's Snow Park Village.

That gondola could cost between $33 million and $55 million depending on tower placement, according to KPCW. A second route linking Richardson Flat to Snow Park was estimated at $40 million. The China Bridge–Snow Park route, which has been under consideration for more than a year, requires angle stations that drive up the price, the Park Record reported.

The council agreed to separate the gondola from the broader Main Street and Swede Alley street redesign and track it on its own timeline.

$36.6M street overhaul

A pedestrian-friendly redesign of both Main Street and Swede Alley would cost approximately $36.6 million. The latest Main Street concept calls for an 8-foot sidewalk on one side, a 14-foot path on the other, an 8-foot parking zone and one-way vehicle traffic downhill, with the trolley running in both directions.

City economic development project manager Matt Lee presented the designs. He said street furnishings and trees would be "robust enough to provide protection from vehicles, yet movable to allow the city to flex the right of way for street events …"

Councilmember Bill Ciraco suggested starting construction on Swede Alley first to limit disruption to Main Street businesses. He also stressed the need for a parking plan before any demolition at China Bridge: "We have to have a rock-solid plan for interim sort of mitigation for parking when that happens."

Deputy City Manager Jodi Emery flagged the same issue on KPCW's "Local News Hour" on Aug. 19, noting the city is considering Gordo and Richardson park-and-ride facilities under the Recreate 248 plan as potential replacements for lost China Bridge spaces.

Swede Alley's status

Councilmember Tana Toly, owner of Red Banjo Pizza on Main Street, pushed to elevate Swede Alley's standing in city code.

"Right now, our code actually says that Swede Alley should be subordinate to Main Street, and to me, that is something that needs to just change dramatically … We need to make it a place where it is a desirable area," Toly said.

The Swede Alley concept includes 6-foot sidewalks on both sides, a 9-foot parking zone, two-way traffic lanes and a 10-foot multi-use lane for service vehicles.

Declining foot traffic

The discussion comes as Main Street visitation continues to slide. About 4.17 million trips were recorded in 2025, down 9% from peak numbers. Spending per visit, adjusted for inflation, has also declined.

The Aug. 21 session was a work session with no formal vote. City staff will return with detailed plans, timelines and financial analyses in the coming months. No specific date has been set. The city has not yet engaged Deer Valley Resort or Main Street business stakeholders on the gondola proposal.