TODutah.com - Transit & Transit-Opportunity Developments in Utah

Salt Lake City seeks to convert rail line to bike path

2009-06-09T14:02:00.000-06:00

Salt Lake City seeks to convert rail line to bike path
900 South » Old spur would link to Jordan River trail.

By Brandon Loomis, The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:06/09/2009 10:34:20 AM MDT

Where freight trains once rattled bungalow windows and startled sleeping west-siders, trail planners now foresee a quieter traverse.

Salt Lake City has won National Park Service assistance in planning a paved bike trail along the abandoned 2.5-mile 900 South rail spur that separates the neighborhoods of Glendale and Poplar Grove. It would connect from downtown at 500 West to the Jordan River Parkway and then west and north to the as-yet unpaved Surplus Canal Trail at 1800 West, forming a triangular link among the three trails.

The city applied for and got technical support from the Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program in Denver.

"Providing trails is very helpful in improving people's health, with the whole obesity problem that all states have," said Kay Salazar, the Park Service planner assigned to the project.

The path passes Parkview Elementary at Emery Street -- about 1200 West -- and some kids could use it to get to school. For now, though, uncut grass, tall thistles and litter dominate the shoulders of the leftover ballast rock.

Just getting rid of those trains was enough for many neighbors. They screeched through the west side, often at night, until Union Pacific abandoned the route to the city in late 2007.

Joyce Gaffney moved into a house by the tracks in 1949 and has rested easier at night since the trains left.

Kids are always throwing rocks from the rail bed into her yard, she said. She wouldn't mind seeing the old rail line spruced up to make the weedy corridor near her side yard useful.

"I was afraid they might put a street through there," she said, and replace train traffic with cars.

Neighborhood newcomer Donavon Brewington walked his son home across the old rail crossing on Emery after school last week. He sometimes bikes the Jordan River, he said, but has to access it by cycle lanes on Indiana Avenue.

"That's a busy street," he said.

Brewington welcomes a better connection along the old rails, especially because the corridor is wasting away.

"I kept telling my kids not to walk down this way," he said, pointing down the rail line, "because I don't really know this area. But now, if there's a trail, it's going to be great."

There is no consensus in the neighborhoods, though. Glendale Community Council member Jay Ingleby would rather fill part of the corridor with new homes than extend the trail all the way west to the Surplus Canal. That's possible along two stretches of Hayes Avenue, where the rail line ran on the empty south-facing side -- already curbed and guttered -- and driveways could access the street. In his vision, cyclists would use residential streets past those stretches and the school.

It might make sense to build the trail west from downtown to the Jordan River, he said, but no farther. Homeowners would take better care of the property, he believes. There is no guarantee the city will hack the weeds regularly. It could remain an ugly menace to the neighborhood, he said, and a place for criminals to lie in wait.

"The trail goes nowhere," Ingleby said. "There's no Disneyland out there. There's no Six Flags. There's nothing for people to go out there for. The trail is a waste."

The Poplar Grove Community Council supports the trail, all the way through.

"We were fighting to get the rail line gone with the anticipation that it will become a trail," council Chairman Mike Harman said. "It's going to be a great addition to our neighborhood."

The city plans to pave the Surplus Canal dike eventually, and Harman argues that accessing it would improve the neighborhood.

"It's not a trail to nowhere," he said. "It's a vital piece in the trail to everywhere."

The city and Park Service are staging a public meeting Thursday to gather ideas about what might border the trail. But the path itself has been on the city's plan for years and is not up for discussion, Transportation Division Director Tim Harpst said.

There might be room in places along the rail line to add homes, Harpst said, but they cannot block the trail. The city decided years ago to place the trail on its plans, he said, and it will span the entire rail corridor. The public can help decide whether to create a linear park or make other improvements next to the trail.

The budget and time frame for completing the trail are unclear, Harpst said, in part because the city still must decide what to build alongside it. It could happen in phases.

Getting people to use a corridor for legitimate recreation often clears up crime, the Park Service's Salazar said.

"People talk about the safety issue in the neighborhood," she said. "Once there's activity along the trail and people use it a lot, it's kind of self-patrolled."

The Park Service grant doesn't include a budget, but such projects generally take a single federal planner about a month and a half -- five or six pay periods-- to coordinate.

bloomis@sltrib.com

What's next?
» Public hearing
» Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m.
» Pioneer Precinct building, Conference Room C, 1040 W. 700 South.

Provo-Orem BRT open house

2009-06-09T13:58:00.000-06:00

You are invited to attend an open house to discuss the Provo-Orem Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project’s proposed alignment around the Utah Valley University campus as well as options for a possible interchange at 800 South in Orem. General information regarding this project will also be available. We look forward to meeting you and collecting your input!

DATE: June 18, 2009
TIME: 5 – 7 PM
WHERE: UVU Student Center Centre Stage
Short presentation and Q & A at 5:30 PM

Sugar House streetcar? It may be closer to reality than you think

2009-06-02T23:15:00.002-06:00

Sugar House streetcar? It may be closer to reality than you think

By Derek P. Jensen, The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:05/29/2009 10:20:22 PM MDT

A slow-sliding streetcar connecting Sugar House with TRAX could be ferrying passengers in three years, and the line eventually may swing north to Westminster College and the University of Utah.

In a status update Friday, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, South Salt Lake Mayor Bob Gray and Utah Transit Authority board member Keith Bartholomew stood on the corner of McClelland Street and Sugarmont Drive -- the initial end of the line -- to announce the $40 million to $50 million project is "on or ahead of schedule."

The two cities and UTA will spend the next year deciding whether to pursue federal dollars or local funding, followed by a two-year construction timeline. The planned streetcar, stopping every two blocks, would run along a two-mile stretch of 2300 South between the Central Pointe TRAX station on 200 West and McClelland at 1045 East. Blueprints call for enough space alongside the streetcar for a pedestrian and bicycle trail.

"We want this to be a valley project," said Gray, predicting the car will salve congestion in Sugar House and South Salt Lake. "Something that will pull the community and entire valley together."

A 2007 study estimated daily ridership on the line at 2,300 people. The construction plan includes a single track -- a streetcar would appear every 15 minutes -- with potential for a double track if demand increases.

UTA completed a preliminary review last year that concluded streetcars, rather than light rail or historic trolleys, were the best option.

Salt Lake City Councilman Soren Simonsen, who joined the mayors Friday, said the line someday could extend east to neighborhoods hugging the Sugar House business district as well as north to Westminster and the U.

"It will be fantastic," said Scott Clark, who owns a vehicle-detailing and storage shop within earshot of the final stop across from Fairmont Park. "All the Sugar House businesses should benefit."

Bartholomew also told a neighbor who stopped by the news conference on her bicycle that the streetcar's impact on property values would be "substantially positive."

"You might think of this as your alternative 401(k)," he said.

The officials predicted an uptick in commercial development along the line, noting retail density tends to follow streetcars in cities such as San Diego and Portland, Ore. And Bartholomew said the addition could transform the surrounding neighborhoods into "some of the most exciting in the region."

In two weeks, Becker plans to sponsor a resolution at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Providence, R.I., calling on Congress to streamline the funding process for streetcars nationwide. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, already has placed a cash request for the Sugar House project.

"We're hoping," Becker said, "that Congress will accelerate the investments."

djensen@sltrib.com

Gentlemen, ladies -- Stop your engines

2009-05-29T08:39:00.000-06:00

Gentlemen, ladies -- Stop your engines
Pollution » Competition seeks to cut emissions by encouraging people to bike or ride public transportation.

By Judy Fahys, The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:05/28/2009 11:11:08 PM MDT

When the Feral Chihuahuas go up against the Killer Bunnies, it could get ugly. Or at least sweaty.

Some teams signing up for the six-week Clear the Air Challenge that begins Monday are serious about the competition. And they're passionate about the goal of reducing millions of pounds of pollution going into the air along the Wasatch Front.

The Feral Chihuahuas are already in training, taking TRAX, riding the bus, biking to work, linking their errands together to cut air pollution -- in short, reducing transportation pollution that makes up the biggest single factor in the Wasatch Front's sometimes-stifling air-pollution problem.

"All of us have been trying to use less gas, less energy to get from one place to another," says Sameera Dharia, Chihuahuas leader and a bioengineering student at the University of Utah.

The challenge is part of the Salt Lake Solutions program created last year by Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and County Mayor Peter Corroon. Their plan is to motivate the community to cut energy consumption, ease traffic congestion and improve air quality.

"This challenge has been designed so there is something for everyone," said Becker.

"There are many people, like me, who already use alternate modes of transportation regularly and there are others who are completely new to it," he added. " The important thing is that everyone makes an effort to think about their driving habits and make adjustments to drive less and drive smarter."

One way to participate is through the "Creative Challenge" for jingles, artwork and videos on the clean-air theme.

Among the examples is the "Don't Idle" jingle by 6th grader Zachary Adamson.

"Paul and Sid" posted a giddy video on the evolution and excitement of carpooling. Another features Olivia, a toddler, singing "The Wheels on the Bus," to her wide-eyed baby brother, Calvin.

People behind the challenge include representatives from state and local government, as well as the University of Utah and Westminster College, Utah Interfaith Power and Light, Utah Moms for Clean Air , the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Wasatch Clean Air Coalition and the Utah Clean Cities Coalition.

Organizers hope to get about 10,000 participants for the clean-air portion of the challenge, which basically means pledging to reduce the number of trips they take in their cars, either by four, eight or 12 times a week.

There will also be online tips and weekly forums throughout the challenge to help people learn, say, how to commute by bicycle or how dirty air affects health. A daily personality profile will be posted on the Challenge Facebook page and Twitter "tweets" will also be deployed.

Organizers hope to see teams challenging teams and people challenging one another.

"We want this to be their program," said Michelle Straube of Salt Lake Solutions.

Heidi Schubert, is organizing the University of Utah Biochemistry Department team. In UTA's Commuter Challenge, the team won its division twice, she said.

This time, under a different program with different rules, she's casting about for recruits. So far, there are about 17 signed up from the 100-person department.

In the warm-up phase, she and her husband opted to do a "gallery roll" by bike instead of the usual gallery stroll. Schubert also has ridden her bicycle to work from her home in lower Sugar House to the highest elevation university building in the foothills -- even though she's four months pregnant.

Although she and many of her friends already calls themselves bike advocates, they also see a larger purpose to participating in the challenge.

"You can look across the valley on any given day," she said, "and not see the Oquirrhs."

The Chihuahuas hope to expand their ranks to 30 people by June 1, said Jenny Esker, an air-quality consultant who has signed up with two teams, the Chihuahuas on the weekends and her office during the workweek.

She likes the instant gratification the online tally provides: a log of trips saved, pollution cut and money saved.

"The extra motivation [of joining the challenge] helps you make it a habit," she says.

"There's a lot of positive reinforcement," adds Dharia, who thinks a party might be in order to prepare the Chihuahuas creative entry.

Chihuahua Maura Hahnenberger, an atmospheric sciences graduate student at the U, has been enjoying the online tips the challenge Web page offers. It parallels her own experience of learning how to navigate the Salt Lake Valley's bus system to her home in Sandy.

"A lot of people don't realize what options there are to commute, to get around the city," she said.

Hahnenberger's even come to enjoy her bus-riding time. "It's relaxing,"

fahys@sltrib.com
Clean Air Challenge Basics:

The goal » eliminate 300,000 trips

To avoid » 1 million miles of travel

To involve » 10,000 Utahns

To cut » 1.8 million pounds of emission

The contest » June 1 to July 10

To find out more » http://cleartheairchallenge.org/

Source: Clear the Air Challenge
How the Feral Chihuahuas got their name

The team's name is a tip of the hat to a couple of members who take in anti-social Chihuahuas and foster them until they can rejoin the ranks of civilized lap dogs.
Factoid

If all Wasatch Front drivers kept their cars parked one day a week, vehicle emissions would be reduced by 6,500 tons per year.

Europe Imagines Its Suburbs Without the Car

2009-05-11T17:40:00.000-06:00

Europe Imagines Its Suburbs Without the Car
May 12, 2009
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL, NYTimes

VAUBAN, Germany — Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.

Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the Swiss border. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.

As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.

Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called “smart planning.”

Automobiles are the linchpin of suburbs, where middle-class families from Chicago to Shanghai tend to make their homes. And that, experts say, is a huge impediment to current efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes, and thus to reduce global warming. Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe — a proportion that is growing, according to the European Environment Agency — and up to 50 percent in some car-intensive areas in the United States.

While there have been efforts in the past two decades to make cities denser, and better for walking, planners are now taking the concept to the suburbs and focusing specifically on environmental benefits like reducing emissions. Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car suburban life. But its basic precepts are being adopted around the world in attempts to make suburbs more compact and more accessible to public transportation, with less space for parking. In this new approach, stores are placed a walk away, on a main street, rather than in malls along some distant highway.

“All of our development since World War II has been centered on the car, and that will have to change,” said David Goldberg, an official of Transportation for America, a fast-growing coalition of hundreds of groups in the United States — including environmental groups, mayors’ offices and the American Association of Retired People — who are promoting new communities that are less dependent on cars. Mr. Goldberg added: “How much you drive is as important as whether you have a hybrid.”

Levittown and Scarsdale, New York suburbs with spread-out homes and private garages, were the dream towns of the 1950s and still exert a strong appeal. But some new suburbs may well look more Vauban-like, not only in developed countries but also in the developing world, where emissions from an increasing number of private cars owned by the burgeoning middle class are choking cities.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is promoting “car reduced” communities, and legislators are starting to act, if cautiously. Many experts expect public transport serving suburbs to play a much larger role in a new six-year federal transportation bill to be approved this year, Mr. Goldberg said. In previous bills, 80 percent of appropriations have by law gone to highways and only 20 percent to other transport.

In California, the Hayward Area Planning Association is developing a Vauban-like community called Quarry Village on the outskirts of Oakland, accessible without a car to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and to the California State University’s campus in Hayward.

Sherman Lewis, a professor emeritus at Cal State and a leader of the association, says he “can’t wait to move in” and hopes that Quarry Village will allow his family to reduce its car ownership from two to one, and potentially to zero. But the current system is still stacked against the project, he said, noting that mortgage lenders worry about resale value of half-million-dollar homes that have no place for cars, and most zoning laws in the United States still require two parking spaces per residential unit. Quarry Village has obtained an exception from Hayward.

Besides, convincing people to give up their cars is often an uphill run. “People in the U.S. are incredibly suspicious of any idea where people are not going to own cars, or are going to own fewer,” said David Ceaser, co-founder of CarFree City USA, who said no car-free suburban project the size of Vauban had been successful in the United States.

In Europe, some governments are thinking on a national scale. In 2000, Great Britain began a comprehensive effort to reform planning, to discourage car use by requiring that new development be accessible by public transit.

“Development comprising jobs, shopping, leisure and services should not be designed and located on the assumption that the car will represent the only realistic means of access for the vast majority of people,” said PPG 13, the British government’s revolutionary 2001 planning document. Dozens of shopping malls, fast-food restaurants and housing compounds have been refused planning permits based on the new British regulations.

In Germany, a country that is home to Mercedes-Benz and the autobahn, life in a car-reduced place like Vauban has its own unusual gestalt. It is long and relatively narrow, so that the tram into Freiburg is an easy walk from every home. Stores, restaurants, banks and schools are more interspersed among homes than they are in a typical suburb. Most residents, like Ms. Walter, have carts that they haul behind bicycles for shopping trips or children’s play dates.

For trips to stores like IKEA or the ski slopes, families buy cars together or use communal cars rented out by Vauban’s car-sharing club. Ms. Walter had previously lived — with a private car — in Freiburg as well as the United States.

“If you have one, you tend to use it,” she said. “Some people move in here and move out rather quickly — they miss the car next door.”

Vauban, the site of a former Nazi army base, was occupied by the French Army from the end of World War II until the reunification of Germany two decades ago. Because it was planned as a base, the grid was never meant to accommodate private car use: the “roads” were narrow passageways between barracks.

The original buildings have long since been torn down. The stylish row houses that replaced them are buildings of four or five stories, designed to reduce heat loss and maximize energy efficiency, and trimmed with exotic woods and elaborate balconies; free-standing homes are forbidden.

By nature, people who buy homes in Vauban are inclined to be green guinea pigs — indeed, more than half vote for the German Green Party. Still, many say it is the quality of life that keeps them here.

Henk Schulz, a scientist who on one afternoon last month was watching his three young children wander around Vauban, remembers his excitement at buying his first car. Now, he said, he is glad to be raising his children away from cars; he does not worry much about their safety in the street.

In the past few years, Vauban has become a well-known niche community, even if it has spawned few imitators in Germany. But whether the concept will work in California is an open question.

More than 100 would-be owners have signed up to buy in the Bay Area’s “car-reduced” Quarry Village, and Mr. Lewis is still looking for about $2 million in seed financing to get the project off the ground.

But if it doesn’t work, his backup proposal is to build a development on the same plot that permits unfettered car use. It would be called Village d’Italia.

FrontRunner ridership sags with economy, fuel cost

2009-05-11T08:55:00.002-06:00

FrontRunner ridership sags with economy, fuel cost
Commuter rail » Numbers 31% under UTA projections.

By Brandon Loomis, The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:05/11/2009 07:37:55 AM MDT

Farmington » FrontRunner commuter trains are running 31 percent emptier than transit officials had projected when the line opened a year ago, and even lighter than when high gasoline prices drove waves of riders to the rails last summer.

Then again, highways are seeing less traffic as well in this struggling economy. Where critics see a waste of tax dollars, believers see a down cycle that will end with the recession.

"I noticed today that the parking lot wasn't as full as when [FrontRunner] started," Layton passenger Terry Smedley said last Thursday during his daily ride to Salt Lake City. It was roughly half empty. "But that might be because of gas prices. They'll be back."

For now, though, ridership is well off of last April's opening-day projections, and not just from the $4.50-a-gallon gas days. The Utah Transit Authority still is tallying last month's numbers, but March drew 4,083 riders per weekday on the diesel-powered Pleasant View-Salt Lake City trains. UTA had projected 5,900 per weekday at opening and logged almost exactly that a year ago.

When pump prices exploded, commuters crowded the double-decker cars to average nearly 8,800 in August. With those prices now just upward of $2 a gallon, an $11 round-trip ticket from Ogden to Salt Lake City becomes a closer call.

"It was really busy last summer," said University of Utah commuter Alice Lundgren while riding a FrontRunner train that would drop her downtown at 8:37 a.m. In those days, she said, each of the four-seat pods carried at least two people.

On this morning, the upper deck where she rode had 18 such pods, but only 11 riders.

Despite relief at the pump, highways also are emptier this year. The latest monthly figures from the Federal Highway Administration found that Utahns in February drove 3.6 percent fewer miles on urban arterial roads than they had in February 2008.

Legacy Parkway opened four new lanes through Davis County last September. That cleared congestion on Interstate 15 and gave commuters another option.

Those who stuck with FrontRunner appear drawn to the leisurely ride.

Smedley, for instance, worked a book of puzzles Thursday. Lundgren gazed out the window while listening to something through ear buds.

"Avoid the stress of traffic every day," west Farmington resident Eric Larson listed as his top reason for riding.

The information-technology worker had beads of sweat on his forehead after riding a mountain bike to the Farmington platform. Besides the exercise and traffic dodging, he said, there's the free wireless Internet access for his laptop.

"I kind of catch up before I get to the office," he said.

Larson never rode public transportation into Salt Lake City before FrontRunner.

"A few people at work told me the express bus wasn't that exciting," he said. "It's always crowded."

That dichotomy -- trains, yes; buses, no -- is a constant annoyance to commuter-rail critics who prefer buses because they run on highways with less capital investment.

"Why do we have to subsidize snobs?" said Randal O'Toole, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute and longtime critic of rail-transit investments. Express buses running in carpool lanes, he argued, could move as many people for less.

The drop in riders is predictable in a recession, O'Toole said, as is a rebound if the economy improves. Still, he maintains it would be smarter to invest in technologies that make cars and roads more efficient, because people now have many more destinations than during the days when trains dominated U.S. travel.

TRAX exceeded expectations when it debuted in late 1999 and went on to a long growth period. O'Toole argues that's because Utah was entering an economic boom then.

This year, TRAX ridership is off, too, though not nearly as precipitously as FrontRunner. The light-rail system averaged almost 43,000 riders on weekdays in March, down from 46,000 last May and a high of 55,000 last July.

UTA Assistant General Manager Mike Allegra agrees that the numbers are largely a reflection of the economy.

"People are just combining trips," he said, "and conserving more than they ever have."

Ridership on the existing route will get a bump in 2012, Allegra predicted, when UTA finishes the second leg, south to Utah County. Thirty percent of the likely riders projected in feasibility studies have destinations north or south of Salt Lake City.

The federal government paid 80 percent of FrontRunner's $542 million first-leg price tag, and UTA says its $12.29 million per mile compares favorably to Legacy Parkway's $12.23 million -- when considering the potential for future expansion, as simple as adding new rail cars.

As odd as that may sound in a time of shrinking ridership, Farmington Mayor Scott Harbertson said it's coming.

"If the economy turns around and building starts to pick up again, we'll start to see more use of FrontRunner," he said. Already there's evening rush-hour slowing where I-15 drops a lane in Kaysville, and Harbertson sees the eventual return of traffic jams pushing more people toward trains.

"I-15 and Legacy will fill up again," he said. "There's no doubt."

Though the mayor rarely travels to Salt Lake City, he said, residents tell him they appreciate the new array of options.

bloomis@sltrib.com

UTA gets stimulus money for Mid-Jordan line

2009-05-07T23:46:00.000-06:00

UTA gets stimulus money for Mid-Jordan line

By Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:05/07/2009 06:37:18 PM MDT

Washington » The federal government is pumping $91 million in economic stimulus money into the Utah Transit Authority's planned Mid-Jordan light rail line, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Thursday's announcement, which included eight other transit projects around the country, seemed to take UTA off guard.

"We are very pleased," said spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware. "We just heard about this today."

Bohnsack-Ware said UTA officials were meeting Thursday evening and would present details Friday morning.

In announcing the funding, the Transportation Department said the infusion is part of the $428 million the federal government has promised to provide for the project, which will cost about $535 million altogether.

When built, the Mid-Jordan line will start at the Fashion Place West station (6400 South) and travel almost 11 miles through Murray and Midvale into West Jordan. It will include nine new stops and end in South Jordan's Daybreak development.

Originally UTA expected to complete construction in 2012. Bohnsack-Ware couldn't say Thursday if the accelerated federal funding would impact that deadline.

But LaHood said: "By getting these funds to the Utah Transit Authority now, we're providing a boost that will help this project keep moving forward while jump-starting the economy and putting people back to work."

The federal government will provide the rest of the funding in annual increments through 2013.

mcanham@sltrib.com

State leaders question fast bus route

2009-05-05T21:40:00.000-06:00

State leaders question fast bus route

By Rodger L. Hardy, Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 1:33 a.m. MDT

PROVO — A route the City Council approved months ago for rapid bus transit ran into resistance from state legislators during a meeting Monday of several public bodies assembled to review the project.

The approved route, which someday could become a light rail route, runs down University Parkway, past the Marriott Center on the Brigham Young University campus, down 900 East, 700 North, 100 West, jogging at the railroad tracks to Freedom Boulevard down to the Provo Towne Center, then looping around in the East Bay area and coming back.

The project is an effort of Mountainland Association of Governments, Utah Transit Authority and the Utah Department of Transportation. Those entities are working with both Provo and Orem city councils.

"Why are we here if this has already been decided?" asked Rep. Steve Clark, R-Provo.

Clark expressed concern that the route didn't access Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, which he said was a key destination.

"I'm sorry I wasn't involved in it early on, but that doesn't (change) how I feel about it now," he said.

"We're pretty far along in the process now," said Chad Eccles, transit program manager for MAG. To change it would cost $100,000.

"If we're not making the right decision, that's peanuts," Clark responded.

Anticipated costs range between $130 million and $150 million.

"When I first saw this I thought it was a foregone conclusion, said Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem. But he expressed concern that the larger rapid transit buses would be empty.

However, the models show that the system would begin with 12,000 riders a day when it opens in 2013 and grow to 17,000 riders within 17 years, Eccles said.

"We're pretty confident the ridership is there," said Hal Ryan Johnson, UTA manager of engineering and construction.

The new system would replace the current UTA Route 830, which could be deployed elsewhere, Eccles said. That system now serves 5,000 riders a day.

Although the council had adopted a resolution setting the route, there was still room for discussion, Provo City Council Chairwoman Cynthia Dayton said. The meeting was set up for participants to map out their ideas for the best route for the new system.

Since the resolution was adopted, council members traveled to Eugene, Ore., where they inspected a bus rapid transit system after which the Provo system is modeled.

Councilman Steve Turley said he still favored the adopted route because of where it took riders. The 100 West corridor is prime for redevelopment, he said. But he expressed concern for service to the hospital, particularly for hospital employees.

Sherry Hall Everett said she would like to see buses move students from campus to Provo's retail centers, even if it was by buses in tandem with the rapid transit system.

The system, new to Utah, is to include two terminals and have an emphasis on speed and short wait times. MAG officials are working toward getting it 80 percent funded by the federal government. It has been in the works since the first study was completed in 2002, Eccles said.

E-MAIL: rodger@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

West Valley condemns land for light-rail access

2009-05-05T21:38:00.000-06:00

West Valley condemns land for light-rail access

By Rebecca Palmer, Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 8:53 p.m. MDT

WEST VALLEY CITY — The West Valley City Council voted Tuesday to condemn part of the land that houses Clear Channel Communications Inc., the company's eight radio stations and 150-plus employees.

The government taking of property will make way for a planned light-rail line near Decker Lake Drive and 2800 South.

The move was has been fought tooth-and-nail by the property owner, Decker Lake Ventures. The company wanted the Utah Transit Authority to allow left-hand turns across the tracks into its business.

On top of the legal issues, Clear Channel's landlord is complaining that UTA has illegally trespassed onto its property, digging unauthorized holes and destroying seven mature trees.

"It's really a shocking, shocking situation that a quasi-governmental entity will take property rights in such a cavalier manner," said Robert E. Mansfield, attorney for Decker Lake Ventures.

Company officials say they were never approached by UTA in early planning stages, though the transit authority claims it sent notice to all property owners.

"I'm not sure that's the golden rule at work," Decker Lake Ventures owner John Alexander said.

UTA program development deputy chief Ralph Jackson called the tree destruction an accident and has agreed to reimburse Decker Lake, but he agreed the incident exacerbated an already dicey situation.

The fight between UTA and Decker Lake Ventures came before the West Valley City Council because UTA does not have the power of condemnation. Thus, UTA asked the city to condemn part of the Decker Lake property in order to make way for a TRAX line.

Decker Lake Ventures isn't against the line, nor are they opposed to the condemnation, Alexander said. Rather, the corporation believes left-turn access should be provided and could be with little trouble to the transit authority.

UTA representatives said plans for the TRAX line are far enough along that making changes would be very expensive and delay construction. They also pointed out that all of the businesses along 400 South in Salt Lake City are denied left-hand turns.

West Valley City staff agreed with UTA that the current plan, which allows U-turns a few hundred feet away from the Decker Lake property, should be followed.

"I have said in the past that left turns are not an inalienable right, and I believe that still," said Russ Willardson, city public works director.

West Valley City Councilman Joel Coleman, who cast the lone dissenting vote in the 6-1 decision to condemn the property, wanted to wait to force UTA to work with the property owner. Coleman said he was unconvinced that UTA had made a good faith effort.

Coleman's comments were echoed by council member Corey Rushton, who said due process had been followed in this case, but just barely.

In the end, West Valley City Mayor Dennis Nordfelt asked UTA to try to work with Decker Lake Ventures before the city winds up in court.

E-MAIL: rpalmer@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

UTA considering new intravalley ‘flex’ route

2009-04-24T12:59:00.000-06:00

UTA considering new intravalley ‘flex’ route
by Jamie Belnap
04.23.09 - 06:33 pm

The Utah Transit Authority is considering eliminating paratransit services in Tooele Valley as a cost-cutting measure to weather the ongoing recession, according to UTA officials. But the move could pave the way for the valley’s first intravalley bus route.

“We have proposed several times in the last number of years to scale back on paratransit services, but for one reason or another we haven’t followed through with that,” said Gerry Carpenter, public information specialist for UTA. “This proposal that we are making right now is due to budget cuts.”

The proposal, which was discussed Wednesday evening at the Tooele County Building during a public hearing, includes reducing the service area for paratransit to meet the minimum standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This would mean all pickups and drop-offs must be within three-quarters of a mile of an existing fixed bus route with all-day service. Currently, the county’s paratransit service deviates beyond those boundaries to accommodate riders.

The county, however, does not have any fixed bus routes with all-day service. As a result, the proposal would mean paratransit services locally would be eliminated entirely.

“We have provided paratransit services in Tooele County in excess of the federal requirement,” Carpenter said. “If we scale back to the federal minimum that service would go away. But, if this proposal goes through, you’ll have a flex route. It’s a new product that UTA is trying to roll out. We’ve received some grant money to fund it in Tooele County.”

A flex route is a fixed bus route that will deviate a couple of blocks off route to pick up customers upon demand.

“They have to call ahead of time and they have to pay for the deviation,” Carpenter said. “So it would go a few blocks off route to pick people up. It isn’t just for disabled people, it’s for everyone. It kind of fills a gap, but also makes better service available.”

A preliminary route would have the flex bus traveling on Grantsville’s Main Street to Center Street, up to Durfee Street, east to Tooele on SR-112, up Vine Street to SR-36, then north to Stansbury Park, connecting with SR-138 before looping back to Grantsville.

“The bus would probably be the same size as our paratransit vehicles — if not one of our paratransit buses,” he said. “It would likely run all day and within a certain distance it could deviate. It would deviate for anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are 2 or 80, disabled or not.”

The flex route would be an additional route to complement the services already offered by UTA’s senior shuttle, which transports residents of any age between Tooele and Grantsville along SR-112.

Fares associated with the flex service would be the same as regular fixed route service — which is currently $2. Deviation would cost an additional $1.

Debbie Bake, a paraplegic living in Tooele, said the only thing she is concerned about is the cost.

“I’m on a fixed income,” Bake said. “I think pubic transit services costs too much. It needs to be lower.”

As public transportation is her only means of transportation, Bake said she is fine with the proposed changes if it means the county will still have options for her and others.

“I use [public transit] to go shopping or run errands almost every other day,” Bake said. “I guess I could stay home more, but sometimes you just need to get out.”

The public comment period for the proposed changes closes May 15. More information about the proposal is available at rideuta.com. Residents can submit comments to UTA via e-mail at hearingofficer@rideuta.com or by calling 801-287-2214.

A final decision on whether to proceed as proposed or to proceed with modifications will be issued in early July. If the proposal is approved, UTA officials said they will come back to the community to discuss the best way to implement the flex route.

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com
© transcriptbulletin.com 2009

Salt Lake City prepping for plug-in cars

2009-04-22T22:20:00.000-06:00

Salt Lake City prepping for plug-in cars

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/22/2009 06:51:33 PM MDT

It won't happen overnight, but someday soon in Salt Lake City you may see electric cars recharging their batteries by plugging in to newfangled parking meters or tethering to outlets in downtown parking lots.

The City Council this week approved a two-part legislative action that urges Mayor Ralph Becker to explore opportunities to support electric vehicles in public settings.

Specifically, the council wants to list available alternative-fueling stations on the city's Web site and ponder grants to encourage business owners to install electrical outlets at stalls reserved for electric vehicles. The city also will investigate adding plug-in systems when it purchases its new credit-card parking meters.

The move is the brainchild of Councilman Soren Simonsen, a green-building architect who drives an alternative-fuel car and a scooter.

Part two contemplates amending the city's parking ordinance to require all new parking lots to include electrical charging stations. It also would implement the U.S. Green Building Council credit standards, which call for a minimum number of car-pool stalls, a minimum number of parking spaces for alternative-fuel cars and provisions for bicycle and scooter parking.

- Derek P. Jensen

Spain's Bullet Train Changes Nation -- and Fast

2009-04-19T23:11:00.002-06:00

Spain's Bullet Train Changes Nation -- and Fast

By THOMAS CATAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL

CIUDAD REAL, Spain -- To sell his vision of a high-speed train network to the American public, President Barack Obama this week cited Spain, a country most people don't associate with futuristic bullet trains.

Yet the country is on track to bypass France and Japan to have the world's biggest network of ultrafast trains by the end of next year, figures from the International Union of Railways and the Spanish government show.

The growth of the Alta Velocidad Española, or AVE, is having a profound effect on life in Spain, where many people have been fiercely attached to their home regions and reluctant to live or even travel elsewhere. Those centuries-old habits are starting to change as Spain stitches its regions together with a €100 billion ($130 billion) system of 218-mile-an-hour bullet trains.

"We Spaniards didn't used to move around much," says José María Menéndez, who heads the civil engineering department at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real. "The AVE has radically changed this generation's attitude to travel."

When Spain opened its first high-speed line, between Madrid and Seville, in 1992, critics said it would be a costly failure. But the AVE -- which means "bird" in Spanish -- was a popular and political success. Politicians now fight for stations in their districts. Under the latest plan, nine out of ten Spaniards will live within 31 miles of a station by 2020.

Now, residents of Barcelona can be in Madrid in just over two-and-a-half hours -- a journey that takes about six hours by car. In the year since the Madrid-Barcelona line opened in February 2008, the AVE, costing passengers roughly the same as what they would pay to fly, has snatched half the route's air-passenger traffic.

Not everyone is pleased. ETA, the militant Basque separatist group, has said it would target anyone involved in the construction of a line that will connect the restive northern region with Madrid and France. ETA killed the owner of a company working on the project in December.

Other, nonviolent critics say the country's massive investment in high speed rail has come at the expense of other, less-glamorous forms of transportation. Spain's antiquated freight-train network has fallen into disuse, forcing businesses to move their goods around by road. That means the Spanish economy is unusually sensitive to changes in the price of crude oil.

And AVE's backers say high-speed rail can only be economical if the state bears much of the construction costs. But they say the benefits -- lower greenhouse-gas emissions, less road congestion and, in Spain's case, greater social cohesion and economic mobility -- make it worthwhile.

The AVE was originally designed for commutes between major cities around 300 miles apart. But the biggest, and least expected, effect of the AVE has been on the smaller places in between, such as Ciudad Real.

An AVE station that puts it just 50 minutes from Madrid has brought daily commuters to the town, and attracted a host of industries. "The country is becoming far more intertwined," says José María Ureña, a professor of city and regional planning here at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. "In a country that tends to separate out somewhat, that can only be a good thing."

Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

UDOT seeking I-15 design proposals

2009-04-17T10:04:00.000-06:00

Deseret News
Thursday, April 16, 2009 11:09 p.m. MDT

The Utah Department of Transportation announced Thursday that construction companies will have the opportunity to propose designs on the $1.73 billion Utah County reconstruction of I-15.

The procurement process UDOT is using begins with a "request for qualifications," which means UDOT will look through proposals submitted by teams of designers and builders and choose the best fixed-price and design.

"The fixed-price/best-design process honors the money allotted by the state in March by keeping within budget, while at the same time encouraging contractor teams to propose innovative and creative ideas," said Dal Hawks, the project's director.

The RFQ also includes an overview of responsibilities to help contractors prior to the issuance of the request for proposals.

I-15 CORE, as the project is known, will add two additional northbound and southbound lanes from American Fork to Provo, improve existing lanes, improve interchanges, replace or modify bridges and extend the express lane from Orem to Provo. Exact scope and methods will be determined by the selected design-builder team within set I-15 CORE parameters. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2010. The RFQ is posted online along with additional project information at i15CORE.utah.gov.

— Laura Hancock
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

Come back to urban core, planner exhorts

2009-04-13T00:36:00.001-06:00

By Aaron Falk, Deseret News
Published: Saturday, April 11, 2009 9:54 p.m. MDT

Keith Bartholomew has felt a little like John the Baptist in the desert as of late.

The urban planning professor's message to the suburbs: "Repent."

Amid the picket fences and two-car garages, a deluge of "for sale" signs and foreclosures highlights the failure of "the real estate machine" and the redefinition of the American Dream, Bartholomew said.

And as the country looks to resuscitate its housing market, the University of Utah academic hopes Americans will return to the urban core, swapping a love affair with the car and the cul-de-sac for mass transit and mixed-use developments.

"That's more reflective of what the American Dream is now," Bartholomew said. "A home is not just the four walls of a suburban house. It's the neighborhood and the community."

The idea has taken hold with planners, developers and municipal leaders. They lauded Daybreak's "walkability" and City Creek Center's "New Urbanism." Mixed-use developments, touting a chance to work, shop and play close to home, were planned all over the Salt Lake Valley.

But before they ushered in the promised mix of tenants and shop owners, nearly all of the major developments were put on hold as credit markets tightened, leaving developers and potential buyers without funding.

In some cases, the fiscal climate exposed the developments' weaknesses.

"When you stack uses on top of each other, all of the uses have to be working the market at the time you build," said Frank Gray, Salt Lake City's community and economic development director.

But planners believe the basic idea behind the projects will survive.

Mixing uses, whether it's apartments on top of stores or a coffee shop in the downtown library, puts "eyes on the street" and brings vibrancy to an area, said U. planning professor Stephen Goldsmith.

Bartholomew expects property values to rise in central neighborhoods, walkable neighborhoods near mass transit and a mix of uses.

"The market is very strong for that model of development," he said.

In many ways, the idea is a return to the design principles that founded this valley.

"The speed of our network was very slow," Ron Milam, a transportation consultant at Fehr & Peers, told a group at the Wasatch Sustainability Summit last month. "Basically we walked everywhere. So we put land uses close together. As speed increased, we were able to put land uses farther apart."

Now the "pendulum is starting to swing back," Milam said.

"The type of housing we've had in the past, there's not going to be as large a demand for it," he said. "If we look back on the 20th century, it was about getting around. The 21st century will be about creating places where people want to stay."

E-mail: afalk@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

Tribes oppose building rail station over ancient village

2009-04-08T23:26:00.000-06:00

Draper parcel » Leaders want to bless site the 'Indian way'; Huntsman agrees to meeting.

By Brandon Loomis, The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted:04/08/2009 05:39:12 PM MDT

Utah tribal leaders are urging the governor to nix an envisioned land swap that would put a rail station and associated development on a Jordan River bluff, once home to the Salt Lake Valley's ancient peoples.

Officials with the Ute, Navajo and Goshute tribes huddled last week and agreed to press Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to keep the Utah Transit Authority from using Draper land currently owned by the state. The site -- east of the river at 13500 South -- contains a buried village that archaeologists have dated to 3,000 years ago. It also holds hints of the earliest known farming in the region.

"We don't know who's buried there," said Rupert Steele, chairman of the Goshutes and spokesman for the tribes' joint effort. "Our feeling is it's our ancestors."

Huntsman's staff said he will meet with the tribes.

Its ancient uses notwithstanding, the property has a twisted history just within the past decade. First, the Legislature set it aside for permanent protection because of the archaeological riches. But the Utah Department of Natural Resources took years to find a nonprofit group willing to sign a conservation easement and manage the land. Once Utah Open Lands stepped forward last year, then-House Speaker Greg Curtis asked DNR to delay the contract because he, as a private attorney, had a client who wanted to trade for the land and develop it.

That developer has since stepped aside, but this year the Legislature authorized DNR to trade with another who wants to build a commercial and residential village around a proposed FrontRunner commuter-rail station. Without the swap, UTA would have to build farther away from Bangerter Highway, and the agency asserts that exposure along the highway would boost ridership.

Now the tribes have agreed to schedule a prayer session to bless the land and its ancient inhabitants, Steele said. "That place needs to be taken care of as soon as possible, meaning the Indian way."

Huntsman's spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said the governor has not received a formal request to meet with the tribes, but plans to do so, perhaps next month.

The governor also intends to walk the land before making any decisions, Roskelley said. "It's going to be an inclusive process," she added.

UTA reaffirmed that the 13500 South site seems the best ridership draw for the Salt Lake City-Provo rail line, spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware said, but will continue studying all options in Draper and Bluffdale.

bloomis@sltrib.com

Colored concrete for TRAX airport line OK'd

2009-04-08T01:10:00.000-06:00

SLC Council » But the $10M design nearly wipes out budget.

By Derek P. Jensen, The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted:04/07/2009 11:23:01 PM MDT

Salt Lake City's North Temple TRAX train will glide up the gateway through decorative, colored concrete -- an expensive design decision capital leaders say will pay off by erasing one west-side stigma.

By unanimous vote, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to embed the rail line to the airport rather than lay it atop a bed of gravel.

"It's going to be a major change," Councilman Van Turner predicted of the so-called Grand Boulevard. "We'll have many things that other parts of town have."

But the choice comes at a cost. It will eat up most of the $10 million TRAX budget, meaning the city must raise additional millions for its beautification wish list for North Temple. Those transformative items include adding 10-foot-wide multi-use sidewalks, burying the electrical power lines, erecting canopies with solar panels at TRAX stations, enhancing intersections for pedestrian access and installing park strips for a forest of shade trees.

"We still have a long road to go," Councilman Carlton Christensen said.

Besides the flush, concrete track -- it will run from 600 West to 2200 West -- the $10 million will pay for minimizing disruption to small businesses and public art.

Clapping after the vote, resident Maria Garciaz said the design, which west-siders overwhelmingly preferred, should help engage businesses in the area. And she pledged to hold fundraisers for the pedestrian-friendly amenities.

"It's exciting," Garciaz said. "It's important not just for the west side of Salt Lake, but everywhere."

Engineers needed a track decision now in order to begin the two-year project. They also will rebuild the bridge spanning the Jordan River out of a separate road fund.

To complete the Grand Boulevard vision, the city will seek financial help through the Redevelopment Agency, federal stimulus, and a special-assessment area to tap North Temple businesses. "We want to do it right," Councilman Luke Garrott said, "and we need the neighborhood to step up."

Council members initially balked at the high cost to color and "stamp" the concrete, but agreed they didn't want a repeat of the bland 400 South TRAX corridor.

"It's not aesthetically pleasing," Garrott added.

City officials entertained the idea of adding grass, similar to transit lines in Europe, but bagged the plan after hearing about the extremely high maintenance cost in Utah's climate.

djensen@sltrib.com

Councilman wants Salt Lake City to accommodate recharging electric cars

2009-04-07T21:33:00.000-06:00

By Aaron Falk, Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 12:32 a.m. MDT

The Volkswagen pulls out of the garage, its converted engine softly whirring.

On a fully charged battery, the electric car might be able to travel from Sugar House to Riverton and back, a trip of a little more than 40 miles, without recharging.

The man behind the wheel knows that's not enough for a revolution.

"The biggest thing holding back the electric vehicle is what I call 'range anxiety,' " says Kyle Dansie, the soft-spoken computer programmer and former mechanic who converted the 1993 VW Golf. "People worry about not having enough juice to get back home."

It's a problem some Salt Lake City leaders plan to tackle, starting next week.

City Councilman Soren Simonsen plans to soon introduce a set of four initiatives aimed at putting basic infrastructure in place for electric cars.

He estimates that there are between 500 and 1,000 plug-in vehicles in the valley, and he said that number will only grow as gas prices and air-quality concerns rise.

"We're at a really good time to take some initiative," he said. "There are a still a lot of unknowns. What is known is that we have a growing interest — I would say it has become quite large — to look at alternative fuels and alternative transportation."

With the city looking at retrofitting its parking meters to allow drivers to pay with credit and debit cards, Simonsen said, it would make sense to install outlets, as well. Drivers would be able plug in their cars and pay for parking and the electricity they use, he said.

A change in the city's parking requirements for developers could also be in order. The code could be changed to mandate plug-ins in parking lots of more than 20 stalls.

The councilman also would like to identify plug-in stations on its list of alternative fueling spots, which currently includes biofuel and natural-gas stations.

"I'm not sure it would take us long to identify places," Simonsen said. "We need a parking lot that has a plug and a willing owner."

The amount of electricity used to charge a battery "is very small," the councilman said. "We're talking about pennies a day."

Dansie's Volkswagen, for example, needs 15 cents worth of electricity to top it off, while a full charge runs between 50 and 60 cents.

Simonsen envisions reserved plug-in stalls in parking garages and outside grocery stores.

Dansie would like to see plug-ins available at most gas stations and public parks.

The city could offer "mini-grants" of $250 or so for installation of outlets and signs, if financial incentive is needed, Simonsen suggested.

The changes would make it easier for drivers in Davis and Utah counties who commute to the capital city, and put Salt Lake ahead of most U.S. cities on the issue, he said.

That would help the valley deal with its notorious air-quality problems, Simonsen said.

"We have a health risk with our air quality in Salt Lake City that is becoming quite enormous," he said. "Regardless of what people may or may not believe about climate change, the same things are causing a staggering health risk in the Salt Lake area. We breathe this gunk every winter and every summer."

"This is a relatively small step forward," the councilman said.

E-MAIL: afalk@desnews.com

© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

UTA says potential FrontRunner site needs more study

2009-03-27T22:40:00.001-06:00

By Laura Hancock, Deseret News
Published: Friday, March 27, 2009 9:14 p.m. MDT

Today, the 250-acre swath of land at 13500 South between I-15 and the Jordan River lacks people, their homes and other development, except for Union Pacific railroad tracks. A group of developers wants to obtain the property and develop it, as well as give a portion of the property to the Utah Transit Authority for a future FrontRunner Commuter Rail station.

But 3,000 years ago, generations of American Indians who were hunter-gatherers spent time on the bluffs above the Jordan River every year for hundreds of years — likely every winter. The land gave them access water, wood and wildlife for food.

Archeologists have studied the site only three times — in the early 1990s, 1997 and 2007 — and have excavated some artifacts, fire pits, a house and part of a second house.

Assistant State Archeologist Ron Rood says there's still work to be done, houses and artifacts to uncover, perhaps even Indian remains, and he hopes UTA will not choose the 13500 South site for the station. UTA is also considering FrontRunner stops at 12800 South, 14000 South and 14600 South.

Friday, UTA attorney Bruce Jones said UTA will likely spend more time studying the area, which is a change from UTA's previous position of wanting to make a decision on the 13500 South site in upcoming weeks so a land swap between the state and private developers could be inked, which would begin a "transit-oriented development" of shopping and housing at the site to support the FrontRunner station.

The change, Jones said, came as UTA met with state regulatory agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and learned they needed to further investigate the land.

"We will decide on the site not by a (certain) date, but after this process of investigation is completed sufficiently that we think we have — not only we, but also the state and federal agencies involved — a sufficient understanding of what we think the site is in order to make a decision, " Jones said.

Jones did not say whether a full excavation of the site would take place during the study. Rood said that excavating the site will cost millions and time. The people who lived there had a diet of plants, grass seeds, cattails, rice grass, yuccas, pine nuts, rabbits, deer and big horn sheep. They did not have cattle or other domesticated animals, except possibly dogs.

The hunter-gathers did not use pottery or make tools out of metal.

"We recovered lots and lots of their cooking stones and rocks that they would have used for cooking food," Rood said, "Fire pits they would have roasted food in. Lots of broken stone tools, things like spear points and things like that. And grinding stones that they used to grind different kinds of grass seeds and berries."

Archaeologists found what may be a ground-breaking discovery using chemical analysis of tools: the hunter-gatherers experimented with farming, specifically growing corn. "What we can do these days is that off of some of the artifacts we found at the site we can recover starches from foods that were cooked with those artifacts. The starches have different chemical signatures that would let us identify different plants."

The archaeologists discovered corn starches. Since corn doesn't grow naturally in Utah, it means the people who lived there may have been cultivating it.

"We don't really see corn being used by prehistoric folks until roughly 2,000 years ago, or 1,000 years after this site was occupied," he said. "It has the potential to add some really cool information about early agriculture in the Great Basin."

The hunter-gatherers' homes are what archeologists call "pit houses," dome-shaped, roughly two feet deep and nine feet in diameter. The pits were covered with wood and perhaps hides for insulation. A fire pit was discovered in one of the houses.

"Those would have been pretty efficient types of houses," Rood said. "They're very warm. It doesn't take a lot to keep them warm."

Archeologists discovered obsidian stones on the site. The closest naturally occurring obsidian stones are in Idaho or the St. George area, which indicates that these hunter-gatherers' routes took them to those sites or that they traded with other groups.

The Utahns of 3,000 years ago lived in extended family groups of about 20-25 people, but combined into larger groups to hunt or share resources. Since only a small part of the site has been studied, Rood's unsure how many people lived at the site. In Utah, archeological sites go back 13,000 years. But along the Wasatch Front, Rood said, sites such as the one at 13500 South are mostly gone.

"These are finite resources," he said. "I think that's one reason why we'd like to make this site protected."

Archeologists don't know what the hunter-gatherers called themselves. Rood does not believe they're related to modern Utah tribes such as the Utes, Piutes, Shoshones or Goshutes, who most archeologists believe came to Utah from farther west, possibly from Southern California, about 1,200-1,000 years ago.

"The Goshutes and the Utes and the folks we work with a lot tell us all the time that they see the archeological resources of Utah as part of their ancestry and their heritage," Rood said. "There's two ways of looking at that: There's the science and the histories and traditions. And I'm not about to dispute what other people believe."

UTA intends to follow state and federal laws on the site, said Jones.

Fred McGhee, a historical archaeologist in Austin, Texas, said that UTA will have to follow the National Historic Preservation Act if it chooses the 13500 South site. If Indian remains are found, then UTA faces complying to more federal laws. The NHPA require UTA to listen to local tribes and other stakeholders, such as environmental advocates who say the area is a refuge for migrating birds. UTA will ultimately make the decision, and may choose not the accommodate the concerns of the stakeholders, since the NHPA has no sanctions.

"Every step in this process is political," McGhee said.

Not only is the 13500 South site attractive to developers, but Draper residents would prefer it to the 12800 South site, which is closer to their homes. They're worried about traffic and development in their neighborhood.

"If there has to be a station, the closer to Bangerter (Highway) the better, because the traffic flow is better," said Sandy Jenkins, a resident near Galena Park.
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

Streetcars could be taking Ogden commuters to Weber State

2009-03-27T02:20:00.003-06:00

Transportation » But bus rapid transit comes in at about half the $100M cost.

By Brandon Loomis, The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:03/26/2009 05:46:39 PM MDT

Ogden » Residents here are eager to bring rail transit through town and hope it will help shape up parts of the city while linking FrontRunner riders to Weber State University.

The Utah Transit Authority is floating options -- generally either electric streetcars or bus rapid transit, both of which would mostly travel in their own lanes -- and expects to pick one by January.

Streetcars were the popular pick among dozens who attended an open house Thursday at Weber State.

"There's lots of potential ridership for something that's seen as more sexy than buses," said Alice Mulder, an assistant professor of geography at WSU who hopes to ride the train to work.

There could be 5,000 riders who would hop aboard daily -- either from downtown or from commuter-rail trains -- on their way to school or McKay-Dee Hospital, said Barry Banks, manager for project consultant WilburSmith Associates.

Streetcars are much like the TRAX light-rail trains that serve the Salt Lake Valley but are cheaper, in part, because they are low to the ground and require no platform construction. They would stop every four blocks or so, making their trips quicker than regular buses even if they travel partly in lanes of vehicle traffic.

Bus rapid transit uses buses that are mostly isolated in their own lanes, speeding their trips.

A five-mile streetcar line for Ogden would cost about $100 million and be funded through existing sales taxes and federal grants, Banks said. Bus rapid transit would cost half of that or less, depending on the design and corresponding traffic signals.

Mulder believes WSU students would get out of their cars if they have the choice of riding either the streetcars or a combination of FrontRunner and streetcars. Most of them come from Ogden or Davis County, she said, and now find it quicker to drive.

She favors a route that heads east out of downtown on 26th Street and then south on Harrison Boulevard, because that would bring the streetcar past the largest number of potential riders and commercial areas that need revitalization.

Other options include heading south on Washington Boulevard and then east on either 30th Street or 36th Street.

Bountiful resident Jeremy Holt said he would ride FrontRunner and streetcars or rapid buses to work at McKay-Dee -- if given the chance. He tried FrontRunner for a couple of months when it opened last spring, but didn't like spending a half hour on a crowded bus going the rest of the way.

"I can drive here from Bountiful in a half hour," he said.

UTA is accepting public comments until April 30.

bloomis@sltrib.com

Streetcars or rapid buses to Weber State
» 5.1 miles from downtown FrontRunner station.
» $20 million per mile for electric streetcars on rails.
» $5 million to $10 million per mile for rapid buses and lanes.
» Decision this summer.
» Decision next winter on federal funding, to cover half the cost.

UTA approves FrontLines bonds

2009-03-26T17:15:00.001-06:00

UTA approves FrontLines bonds

By Laura Hancock, Deseret News
Published: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 9:48 p.m. MDT

OREM — The Utah Transit Authority Board of Trustees approved Wednesday afternoon the issuing of $306 million in bonds to pay for the FrontLines 2015 program, in which UTA aims to build 70 miles of light and commuter rail in Salt Lake and Utah counties.

UTA plans to repay the bonds in 30 years with sales taxes. Under the law, the public is invited to sound off about the bonds at a special hearing on April 8 at 2 p.m. at the UTA FrontLines center at 669 W. 200 South. Then UTA staff and financial underwriters will publicize the bond sale and sell the bonds, probably some time during the third or fourth week of April, depending on interest rates, said Ken Montague, UTA chief financial officer.

Once purchasers are found with a favorable interest rate, the UTA board must again approve the sale, Montague said.

UTA will use the $306 million as needed, "depending on the construction process and who really needs the money most," Montague said. "Right now, the three projects moving forward fastest are (FrontRunner) South, the mid-Jordan line and the West Valley Line."

TRAX to the Salt Lake City International Airport and in Draper are not as far along, he added.

All trustees approved Wednesday's vote except for Orrin Colby Jr. and Dama Barbour, who both abstained. Colby said he didn't know enough about the issue to vote. Barbour is a new board member and said she was surprised by the amount of money and didn't have enough information to vote, either.

It is the second bond issuance for UTA. The first was for $700 million. Some of it paid off FrontRunner Commuter Rail between Salt Lake and Davis counties. The rest of it paid for construction of commuter rail to Utah County, and the mid-Jordan and West Valley City lines of TRAX.

E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com

UDOT moves forward on Mountain View Corridor

2009-03-25T10:38:00.002-06:00

UDOT moves forward on Mountain View Corridor

By Laura Hancock, Deseret News
Published: Monday, March 23, 2009 1:43 p.m. MDT

With permission from the Legislature to bond for $500 million when ground is broken for the Mountain View Corridor in western Salt Lake County, the Utah Department of Transportation is preparing to ensure construction starts next year.

Currently, UDOT is purchasing land for the road, which will run between Redwood Road north of Camp Williams to I-80, roughly between 5000 West and 5800 West. Most of the land is private and not occupied.

"We may have one or two buildings we may need to take out," said Teri Newell, a UDOT engineer who is project manager over Mountain View Corridor. UDOT is purchasing the land and will hire a road designer with $230 million it received two years ago.

UDOT will likely issue the bonds in phases. The Legislature approved bonding for the Mountain View Corridor in the last hours of the session that ended March 16.

"We haven't figured out all of our cash flow yet," Newell said. "And they'll bond based on when we would need to use the money. We don't expect to be in construction until 2010."

The $500 million will only pay for the first 10 miles of the 35-mile-long road.

Those first 10 miles will be on the south portion of the road. UDOT will build a road similar to Bangerter Highway, with two lanes in each direction and stop-lighted intersections every mile to 1.5 miles.

Those stop-lighted intersections will someday become interchanges, and speeds on the highway will increase as Mountain View Corridor becomes a freeway, Newell said. A freeway has more vehicle capacity than a highway.

E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com

FrontRunner stop gets lots of discussion

2009-03-25T10:30:00.003-06:00

FrontRunner stop gets lots of discussion

By Laura Hancock, Deseret News
Published: Monday, March 23, 2009 9:42 p.m. MDT

Some environmentalists are determined to stop the Utah Transit Authority from considering a FrontRunner commuter rail stop in southern Salt Lake County on what they consider sensitive Jordan River ecology and the site of a 3,000-year-old Native American settlement, even though Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed a bill last week that could pave the way for the station.

A Monday meeting of 10 people — including the environmentalists, Huntsman staff members and other state employees — ended with most encouraged that the issues about the potential station, at 13500 South and the Union Pacific railway west of I-15, will be resolved through dialogue. However, one environmentalist, Jeff Salt, executive director of Spirit of Utah Wilderness and Great Salt Lake Water Keepers, says he may sue UTA to block the station.

UTA is building commuter rail to connect Salt Lake and Utah counties by 2015. UTA planners anticipate that as the population of the Draper-Bluffdale area grows, they will eventually need a station for the area and are currently planning the station to meet that future need. UTA is considering four sites: 14600 South, 14000 South, 13500 South and 12800 South.

Archaeologists and environmentalists such as Salt and Ted Wilson, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, oppose using the 250 acres at 13500 South. The parcel is currently owned by the Utah Division of Natural Resources, but it could be swapped for private developer-owned land at 12800 South, thanks to a bill passed by the Utah Legislature and signed by Huntsman on Friday that permits the trade.

A development group called Whitewater VII Holdings wants to swap with the DNR because the 13500 South land has closer access to Bangerter Highway. Whitewater VII wants to create a "transit-oriented development" of shops and services near the UTA station, and would donate land for a platform and station.

Developer Terry Diehl, a UTA trustee, has worked for Whitewater VII, which critics have called a conflict of interest. To remove the appearance of a conflict, Diehl has recused himself from voting on the issue at UTA trustee meetings.

UTA attorney Bruce Jones says a transit-oriented development would propel the success of the station, which is why 13500 South is an attractive option. UTA intends to hire a firm, Jones says, to study archaeological and environmental impacts affecting the potential station site. If it proves to be too difficult to meet federal and state archaeological and environmental standards, 13500 South will be abandoned.

"There's no question in my mind we are laboriously following all legal requirements," Jones said. "But keep in mind that we're not done."

Jones believes that after archaeologists and anthropologists excavate and remove the artifacts at 13500 South, the property could be OK'd for development, which would be a "win-win" situation, he said.

Salt, the environmentalist, argues that the property is an important spot for migrating birds that travel between Alaska and Mexico. The birds cannot retreat to the mountains because of snow. The property may be one of the last large natural swaths along the Jordan River, since development in several cities abuts the water and Jordan River Parkway.

Salt says he is considering suing UTA, and possibly the DNR, to at least temporarily halt the land swap and bring pressure on UTA to abandon the 13500 South site. Salt believes the FrontRunner South project is a key to the Utah Department of Transportation's plans for a 20-mile-long rebuild of I-15 in Utah County. Without a rail alternative during construction, "I-15 will be a parking lot," he said.

Wilson, of the Rivers Council, sees litigation as a last option. For now, he's optimistic he can persuade the governor and UTA to choose a different station.

"There are so many concerns about it, not only its natural location and the beauty of it, which greatly exceeds the piece that would be traded for it, but also the archaeological site."

Lisa Roskelley, the governor's spokeswoman, said Huntsman will likely visit the potential station sites and will meet with groups who feel passionate about the issue.

"This is part of an ongoing dialogue," Roskelley said. "Gov. Huntsman feels that open and transparent government is critical. This conversation about (the environmental) concerns will be part of the ongoing conversation with the various agencies in this specific transaction, or potential transaction."

E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com

Commercial Realtors Forum - transit is coming to Utah County!

2009-03-19T20:50:00.004-06:00

This morning the Utah County Association of Realtors focused their monthly Commercial Members Forum on the transit options that are coming to Utah County. We had great presentations by Chad Eccles with Mountainland Association of Governments and Ryan McFarland with Utah Transit Authority.

They've both made available their presentations. Just a reminder that several of the station location and plans, etc. are just preliminary and subject to change. Here are the links:

Chad Eccles, Transit Planner, Mountainland Association of Government
2015 and Beyond - PDF version (6.95 mb)
2015 and Beyond - PPT version (27.42 mb)

Ryan McFarland, TOD Manager, Utah Transit Authority
TOD Benefits - PDF version (5.91 mb)
TOD Benefits 1 of 2 - PPT version (26.47 mb)
TOD Benefits 2 of 2 - PPT version (39.88 mb)

(The links above take you directly to those files. If you want to save them to your computer, in most browsers you can right-click on the links above and choose the "Save as..." option. Let me know if the files give you any trouble.)

The forum was very worthwhile for all that attended. Special thanks to Chad and Ryan for their presentations.

Welcome to the #1 source on transit-oriented developments in Utah

2009-03-19T11:24:00.001-06:00

More information coming soon!