TVA must be part of transit conversation, solution

Citing rapidly rising costs, TVA is cutting its historic funding contribution to START, which is wrongheaded. The debate is based on who pays for START and how much is too much. Anyone could argue that TVA gains a tremendous value from Teton Village sales tax collections — an additional 2% — and collecting parking fees of up to $35 per day. How TVA spends those funds is governed by improvement and service district board members. While TVA has a right to negotiate how much it contributes annually, reducing the contribution to zero for a bus system that costs the community more than $10 million a year to operate is a massive step in the wrong direction.

A cartoon in our sister paper, the Jackson Hole Daily, drew attention to a yearslong and quietly spread loophole to avoid paying for Teton Village parking. When TVA finally fixed the glitch, an angry Instagram mob railed. It’s easy to become emotional and feel betrayed when an opportunity for the working class to get a break disappears.

But what this topic brings into focus is our need to collectively take a deep breath, and realize that the Teton Village management plan requires START and paid parking to help manage behaviors, or we’ll forever live in gridlock on powder days and at peak commuting hours. It’s about trying to avoid a four-lane Highway 390, enjoying the beauty of the place and not further congesting roadways.

The TVA board should, as a matter of its mission, rejoin this important conversation toward our community’s end goal of reducing traffic on highways 22 and 390. Sure, Teton Village employers should pay their part, but TVA and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort should invest significantly to make it efficient for both Teton Village customers and employees to get to and from town.

We settled the debate as a community when expansion of the resort was approved in 1998: How are we going to grow the resort and not expand 390? The answer: Let’s create the TVA to manage parking. The plan was to make it harder and more expensive for people to park in Teton Village. That plan explicitly notes that employees are not going to drive to work, and they get a free bus pass. Last year, 332,287 riders took the bus to or from the Village. That’s nearly half of all START bus riders, including those on town routes and those who commute from Idaho or Alpine. We must collectively work hard to carpool or take the bus.

Let’s avoid paving more of paradise, while getting to world-class skiing and recreation. START and well-managed paid parking will give our environment a chance. Critters, especially moose living near 390, will thank you.

Jackson Hole News&Guide

April 17