Colored concrete for TRAX airport line OK'd
By Derek P. Jensen
The Salt Lake Tribune
SLC Council » But the $10M design nearly wipes out budget.
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.
Salt Lake leaders OK embedded tracks for airport line
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705295833/Embedded-TRAX-tracks-OKd.html
..."We're excited they want to do it the right way," said Fairpark resident Maria Garciaz.
The city still plans to turn North Temple into a "grand" entrance to the city. The council plans to use road funds to repair the Jordan River Bridge and seek out other revenue sources for burying power lines, adding solar panels to station platforms and installing 10-foot-wide paths for cyclists and pedestrians.
"We really want to shoot the moon here," Councilman Luke Garrott said. "We're committed to spending money beyond the $10 million we have because we want to do it right."...
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