Tread Threshold

In a spectacle that would make a bureaucrat blush, UDOT announced on November 13 that 24‑hour pre‑storm traction enforcement will be activated on both Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, converting the sleepy back‑roads into flashing sentinels of policy. Drivers are now required to mount at least 5/32‑inch tread on their tires, or equip M+S or snow tires depending on drive‑type, while 4‑wheel‑drive vehicles must switch to 3‑peak mountain snowflake tyres to appease the law. The enforcement patrols, hugging the dawn‑uphill and dusk‑downhill routes, will deploy officers as if the rain‑concerned government wishes to turn the mountain pass into a DMV checkpoint. Park City Mayor Scott Selwood has publicly lamented the inconvenience, yet the stickers program, though free, feels like a bureaucratic hand‑out of temporary absolution. This regulation, obfuscating the scenic drive with alarming mandatory inspections, forces the public to confront the question: does the loss of speed matter? Tactical recommendation: take the Richardson Flat bus, bypass the snow‑locked path entirely, and keep your tires in the realm of compliance.