CIRC PI Meeting attendees were encouraged to use TRAX, the Salt Lake Valley's light rail system. Getting around by TRAX is inexpensive and easy! TRAX trains run regularly between the CIRC PI Meeting venue, the Salt Lake City downtown area (recommended hotels), and the Salt Lake City International Airport.
It is also easy to get around Salt Lake City by car, either your own or via ride sharing. There was parking near the CIRC PI Meeting venue for people who prefered to drive their own vehicles. Find details and a parking map below.
Finally, on both days of meeting, the CIRC PI Meeting operated a small, restricted-hours, minivan-based “shuttle service” to move people between the recommended hotels and the CIRC PI meeting site on the University of Utah campus. See below for the details of this service. Because the shuttle service had limited capacity and hours operation, the CIRC PI Meeting organizer encouraged meeting attendees to use TRAX or private vehicles when it was possible to do so.
TRAX Light Rail
UTA TRAX is the Salt Lake Valley's light rail system. It has three main lines: the Red Line, the Green Line, and Blue Line. You can buy tickets at any TRAX station. A one-way fare costs $2.50, and an all-day pass costs $5.00.
Red Line. The Red Line runs between the Salt Lake City downtown area and the University of Utah campus, where the CIRC PI Meeting took place. (The Red Line also goes further south, past downtown and into the Salt Lake metro area.) The main station for catching the Red Line train is the Courthouse Station. Red Line trains come by every 15 minutes, from early morning until late at night.
To travel from downtown to the CIRC PI Meeting site, go to the Courthouse Station, buy a ticket, and catch a Red Line train headed north. Shortly after leaving the station, the train will turn east. Exit the train when you reach the Fort Douglas Station. The travel time between stations is 15 minutes. Finally, walk from the Fort Douglas Station to the University Guest House & Conference Center, where the CIRC PI Meeting was held. Cross the 2002 Olympic Legacy Bridge (the big white bridge going over the road), and proceed until you see signs that guide you to the University Guest House. The Guest House will be on your left (to the north).
To travel from the CIRC PI meeting site to the Salt Lake City downtown, reverse the steps above. Leave the University Guest House by foot and walk over the 2002 Olympic Legacy Bridge to reach the Fort Douglas Station. Buy a ticket, and get on a Red Line train headed south (towards downtown or “Daybreak”). Shortly after leaving the station, the train will turn west. Exit the train when you reach the Courthouse station. The travel time between stations is 16 minutes.
Green Line. The Green Line runs between the Salt Lake City downtown area and the Salt Lake City International Airport. There are stops near all of the recommended hotels in the downtown area. You can transfer between Green Line trains and Red Line trains at the Courthouse Station. Green Line trains come by every 15 minutes, from early morning until late at night.
The travel time between the Salt Lake City International Airport and the downtown area is 20–25 minutes, depending on which station in the downtown area you choose. The TRAX station at the airport is located on the ground level, outside the terminal on the east side.
Parking at the Meeting Venue
If you prefered to drive your own car to the CIRC PI Meeting site, parking was available
at no cost to attendees near the University Guest House & Conference Center. See the
map at right. There was signage to direct drivers to parking on the days of the meeting.
Attendees were allowed to park in the University Guest House & Conference Center lot, which is outlined in red on the map. This lot is closest to the meeting site, but spaces are somewhat limited.
Attendees were also allowed to park in the “Overflow” lot, which is outlined in blue on the map. The overflow lot has many stalls, and it is easy to walk between the overflow lot and the meeting site via the Glen Bridge (shown on the map).
Shuttle Service
The organizers of the CIRC PI Meeting arranged a restricted shuttle service to move meeting participants between the recommended hotels and the meeting site at the University Guest House & Conference Center. The service consisted of four minivans operated by volunteers from the University of Utah.
Of special note: The shuttle service did not provide transportation to or from the Salt Lake City International Airport.
The shuttles (white or gray minivans) were labeled with “CIRC PI Mtg” signage.
The shuttles operated within the following timeframes each day:
- Monday, November 6 morning: 7:30am–8:40am — hotels to meeting site
- Monday, November 6 evening: 6:00pm–7:00pm — meeting site to hotels
- Tuesday, November 7 morning: 7:30am–8:40am — hotels to meeting site
- Tuesday, November 7 mid-day: 11:00am–1:00pm — meeting site to hotels
In the mornings, the service operated on a loop route between the four recommended hotels and the meeting site. A shuttle arrived at each hotel at approximately 7:30am, waited several minutes, and continued to the next destination on the loop. Each hotel saw at least five pickups; arrival intervals varied, because the dominant factor was the transit time between downtown and the University, at times of high utilization.
On Monday evening and Tuesday mid-day, a meeting volunteer was present in the meeting venue main lobby, with “CIRC Shuttle” signage, adjacent to the entrance, to coordinate ride departures on an on-demand basis according to load.
The shuttle drivers picked up and dropped off participants outside each hotel’s main entrance, as shown on the maps in the following list:
- Little America Hotel — view main entrance location on Google Maps
- Kimpton Hotel Monaco — view main entrance location on Google Maps
- Salt Lake City Marriott City Center — view main entrance location on Google Maps
- Salt Lake City Marriott University Park — view main entrance location on Google Maps