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July 15, 2005
Utah County Transportation
Utah County has been the talk of the state this week - well Utah County transportation that is. On Monday, the Deseret News had articles about our traffic congestion and the future of commuter rail and on Tuesday Doug Wright was talking about UTA in Utah County over the airwaves. It is too bad that the reports haven't told the whole story. My friend and colleague, Rep. John Dougall, did a good job of shedding light on some important
facts but I feel compelled to add my perspective.
One thing about the whole transportation debate that really frustrates me is the way UTA and its General Manager have characterized the issue
- that Utah County and its elected officials have missed the transportation boat. In fact, John Inglish would have you think the reason we've "missed the boat" is because the county wants the rest
of the state to pay for its transit. This is absolutely not true!
What is true is this: John Inglish's objective is to grow transit.
The more Utah citizens tax themselves, the more money he has to work with and the bigger his organization grows.
Those of us in elected office don't have this same objective. We want what is best for you. And voting to put a transit tax in Utah County may not be the best thing.
Let's look at Davis and Weber Counties. They have been paying a sales tax since 2000 and haven't seen any construction on commuter rail.
Some of the elected officials in those counties would like to blame Utah County when maybe they should be questioning UTA. I think Utah County needs to see how UTA reacts to the Weber/Davis issue before we make any commitments. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
Today the biggest need in Utah County is relieving the congestion on our roads. Weber and Davis have a solution in the Legacy Highway. It will be built and resolve much of the road congestion in the North.
Until a similar solution is found for the counties to the south we shouldn't just be focused on commuter rail. Besides, UTA hasn't wanted to talk of any other solutions. Some reports are saying that even if there were roads with 10 or 12 lanes commuter rail wouldn't make a significant difference. If that is true, is it worth the expense of building the infrastructure for commuter rail? Should we be looking at more express bus type solutions where there isn't much infrastructure?
All of us know the solutions won't be easy. But instead of trying to tie the hands of Utah County residence by not providing more express buses in hopes of forcing commuter rail, maybe UTA should provide the solution for today and start working with people instead of bullying them.
Posted by Jeff at July 15, 2005 02:10 PM
Comments
Representative Alexander,
Thank you for posting on this blog. It is a great way for us to understand a little better what you and other Represenatitives are thinking.
I think commuter rail at some point would be a good idea. And I'm not convinced that we should wait to see how it works in the North before putting money towards it. I'm just afraid that by waiting we put ourselves behind the eight ball and end up paying more. I'm glad you are asking questions though.
It seems like a lot of the growth in Utah county is in the Lehi/Eagle Mountain area...has there been any discussion on expanding Bangerter or Redwood Road (more lanes) further south? I think this would be like our Legacy Highway or even I-215.
Thanks,
Ryan
Posted by: Ryan Pedersen at July 19, 2005 09:05 AM
Thanks to Rep. Jeff Alexander for this accurate clarification of transportation issues in Utah County. I had my DITTO.
Rep. Margaret Dayton
Posted by: Margaret Dayton at July 19, 2005 04:13 PM
It seems to me that the two worst bottlenecks along the Wasatch Front are the Point of the Mountain and up in Farmington.
Getting a light rail around either of these bottle necks would have a significant impact. Many of the cars that park at the Sandy stop came from Utah County. You would probably end up pulling several thousand cars off the point of the mountain bottleneck if the light rail were extend even to Lehi.
Posted by: Kevin at August 27, 2005 06:18 PM
Let me thank you up front for posting your thoughts.
I live in Weber County and have taken an interest in the debate surrounding Utah's traffic woes. I believe you overlooked the time factor in all of this however... True, we have been paying increased taxes for the last few years and haven't seen any commuter trains as of yet. But the environmental impact statement, FTA mandated studies, etc have taken time, money, and patience. The studies are now finished, the funding approved, and the project is already 15% completed.
For us up here, taxing ourselves yesterday has left the door open for options today. Utah County's roads will only get worse, as will ours up here. I-15 just won't cut it in years to come...
Posted by: Bruce at February 8, 2006 02:24 AM