Salt Lake County
Transit could link opposites together
UTA study is looking at linking rough part of South Salt Lake with Sugar House
By Cathy McKitrick
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/02/2007 04:16:09 AM MDT
Salt Lake City - Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake and UTA are going to study how to use an old UP freight line at 2200 South- if they should add TRAX, a streetcar or bus to serve Sugar House.
A future transit line, under study by the Utah Transit Authority, could one day link two very different Salt Lake Valley communities. At one end of the 1.8-mile route, a few blocks west of State Street, there is an area of South Salt Lake that some folks hesitate to frequent after dark.
At the other end, several blocks to the east, there is the charm of Sugar House's retail district, a combination of sought-after franchises and unique mom-and-pops.
In between - the dividing line between South Salt Lake and Sugar House is 500 East - the residential neighborhoods run together.
For South Salt Lake's part, the city aims to revive its west side with transit-oriented development near the light-rail station at 250 W. 2100 South. That transition has begun, and a direct rail link to Sugar House could be part of that community's revitalization.
Also sandwiched between these two destinations are South Salt Lake's city offices and Salt Lake County Government Center at the corner of 2100 South and State streets. Most of the county's 4,000 employees work there.
A few blocks northeast of the corridor, 2,500 students attend Westminster College - about 900 live on its cozy campus.
"We're the biggest employer in the Sugar House neighborhood, and we have a regular flow of commuters," says Gary Daynes, director of Westminster's Center for Civic Engagement.
Daynes estimates that 200 employees and 1,500 students make their way to the liberal-arts enclave each weekday.
At Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake's request, the Utah Transit Authority launched a study of the corridor to determine the best east-west route, somewhere between 2100 and 2700 South, and the most appropriate mode of transport.
Vehicle choice could be anything from light-rail, jazzed-up bus service, state-of-the-art streetcars or vintage trolleys.
Stacey Liddiard, president of South Salt Lake Chamber, views the study - and today's open house - as an opportunity.
"South Salt Lake residents can have a voice about what goes in there that they can actually use, rather than something that wouldn't benefit them at all," Liddiard says.
From that perspective, she believes that rubber-tire transport that travels at slow speeds and stops at every other block would best service the neighborhoods east of State Street.
Some residents whose homes border UTA's right-of-way favor rubber-tire transit on 2100 South rather than trains zipping through their backyards along UTA's rail corridor, Liddiard says.
As a business advocate, Liddiard acknowledges the advantages this east-west connection could bring.
Construction on South Salt Lake's mixed-use Market Station development is scheduled to start this summer and Liddiard views it as a future valleywide draw.
"We're hoping we can share customers with Sugar House, that people will want to stop and shop at both ends," Liddiard says.
Lynne Olson, vice chairwoman of Parley's Rails, Trails, and Tunnels Coalition (PRATT), said her nonprofit organization favors a single-track transit system along UTA's right of way.
"That would work best for us," Olson says, as it would allow for an adjacent bicycle-pedestrian path that would become part of the eight-mile Parley's Creek Corridor Trail.
In the most narrow portions of UTA's right of way - currently a former Union Pacific rail line overgrown with weeds - additional land acquisition for the rail-trail would still be required.
While homed in on the route, PRATT is less picky about the mode.
"We've been told TRAX could run on a single track in that corridor," Olson says. "Also a rubber-tire or neighborhood trolley would work just as well."
For six years, Trolley enthusiast Doug White has examined the idea of refurbishing old-time streetcars and reviving their use along this corridor.
"I'm a big fan. That style of operation and look would be a perfect fit for the community," White says.
However, his idea lacks financial backing and "the ball is in UTA's court now," he says. "I'm in standby mode right now."
Steve Hurlbut, who teaches management at Westminster, credits White as the "spark plug that got us all talking and studying this."
In late 2005, a team of Hurlbut's students analyzed White's concept and concluded it was feasible. But without an influential board of directors and serious fund-raising, it likely would go nowhere.
"I would love to see them do some kind of trolley, some slow touristy thing, and stick a bike trail on one side," Hurlbut says. "It would get rid of the blight along the corridor, provide transportation and give Sugar House one more unique feature."
Wish lists aside, Hal Johnson, UTA's engineering and construction manager for Bus Rapid Transit, says the process of defining a "locally preferred alternative" is rigorous, combining regional travel data with area demographics.
"We connect all that in a mathematical model and see what mode fits it best," Johnson says.
The cost to bankroll a project can elevate one mode or route above another. Most of the cost to operate a transit system lies in labor, not rubber and fuel, Johnson says, noting that a single operator can drive an 800-seat train or an 80-seat bus.
Unseen factors can also drive up costs - "like underground utilities you have to protect or move," Johnson says.
Once a preferred route and mode are selected, a more detailed environmental study takes place. After that, the search for funding begins.
"This is a starting point," Johnson says of the current study. "And we encourage early involvement from the public when they can have the most impact."
cmckitrick@sltrib.com
Open house today
* What's next: Utah Transit Authority-sponsored open house on the Sugar House Transit Corridor
* When: Today, 5-8 p.m.
* Where: Columbus Center, Room 106, 2531 S. 400 East, South Salt LakeWhat's it about?
* In January, the Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake initiated the Sugar House Transit Corridor Alternatives study.
* Its goal: to determine the best route and mode to move people through this area.
* The study should be completed this fall.