Transportation
Summary—
We must continue to address South Davis County’s highway construction and maintenance needs appropriately and ensure that the public transportation dollars our district pays in taxes are used in ways that provide real benefits. Plus a few thoughts about those HOV lanes.
2012 Legislative Update—
Mobility is key to our economy. The 2012 legislature continued its commitment to transportation, while at the same time bring our bonded indebtedness back below our statutory limit.The legislature created an emergency contact database to help public safety officers communicate family members or other key contacts in the event of a crash involving serious injury or death. Lawmakers also reduced the number of safety inspections required for newer vehicles and redirected resource to put several more Highway Patrol Troopers on the road.
2011 Legislative Update—
In 2011, the legislature set aside a portion of the growth in sales tax revenues for transportation. The governor vetoed this, and the legislature overrode the veto. We also passed a resolution urging Congress to limit the freeze on longer combination vehicle use in the Western States. As it is, vehicles have to unhitch at state lines and then come back to pick up the remaining trailer later. A uniform limit would reduce transportation costs. Finally, we cut back on the number of specialty license plates Utah will issue!Read More Below ...
Residents of Bountiful and South Davis County have benefited from a healthy share of road construction dollars over the past decade. New Legacy Highway capacity has taken pressure off I-15 in the south end of the county. Also, the current reconstruction of I-15 from 600 North in Salt Lake City to the north interchange will fill in the missing link between Salt Lake, Bountiful and projects to the north, some already completed and some underway. My goal as your state representative will be to ensure that this trend continues, that UDOT continues to address South Davis County’s highway construction and maintenance needs appropriately. I will also work to ensure that we protect our investment in roadways through continued attention to critical maintenance and repair needs.
One of the largest concerns I’ve heard from citizens in the Bountiful area is that we don’t benefit as much as we should from the transit funding our tax dollars provide. For many who work in Salt Lake City, driving to the Park and Ride lot for FrontRunner takes nearly as long as driving to work. Transit connections through the center of Bountiful and into downtown Salt Lake City must be improved.
Another concern is that most bus routes in Bountiful, Woods Cross, North Salt Lake, and West Bountiful run north and south. Working with UTA to provide better east-west bus links between our communities along with more convenient bus access to FrontRunner will be another of my priorities.
The South Davis Transit Study, which came about as a result of the final Legacy Highway settlement, recommended streetcars or some form of light rail as a north-south backbone for South Davis County transit. While such a concept is appealing on the surface, closer examination shows that our projected population trajectory in South Davis County will not soon provide sufficient potential riders to justify the high cost of a rail system. Another issue is that no off-street right-of-way is readily available, so trains or streetcars will be subject to the same delays as automobile traffic. With no speed advantage over cars stuck in rush-hour traffic jams, transit ridership incentives will surely be further reduced.
Federal assistance for such projects has traditionally been awarded based mostly on ridership projections, so there may be no help there. Large state subsidies for a system without sufficient riders would surely not be a prudent use of State funds. Based on these legitimate concerns about the cost to subsidize a rail system, the South Davis County Transit Study is being re-evaluated. My guess is that Bus Rapid Transit may turn out to be a viable alternative for the foreseeable future for the backbone through the center of South Davis County and continuing north and south from here.
Fortunately, we have time for thoughtful consideration and planning before final transit decisions for South Davis County must be made. One policy initiative on the horizon that could impact our plans is the new Federal livability grant program. This transit initiative, while still in the early stages, appears to focus more on quality of life and economic development. It is concerned with connecting dwelling places with employment centers, and improving the environment rather than just applying rote ridership formulas as has been the case in the past. It is possible that with this broader focus, we may have greater opportunities (and sooner) for Federal participation in funding a rail system of some type through the heart of South Davis County.
One final note about transportation. I may lose some votes from UDOT on this one, but I fully support the idea of opening HOV lanes to all vehicles during all times other than rush hour. Further, unless UDOT can come up with a better argument than I’ve heard so far, I will work to eliminate the system of solid and dotted lines that attempts to control when vehicles can and cannot enter these lanes.
When we create laws and rules whose purposes are difficult to justify and which seem to be disobeyed as often as or moreso than they are obeyed, then I think we need to take a hard look at those requirements and decide whether we’re serious about the laws and whether they really serve any public good. As your legislator, I will subject HOV lane access restriction requirements to such an analysis. At present I’m not convinced we need them.