Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[asies1981]

Post on some west side transportation projects.

[airportvids]

Originally Posted by asies1981

Post on some west side transportation projects.

This post was a bit misleading. When saying "transportation" I was thinking Trax, buses, Max, ect not trails for bikers and hikers. Should have said "Trail Project" instead.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by airportvids

This post was a bit misleading. When saying "transportation" I was thinking Trax, buses, Max, ect not trails for bikers and hikers. Should have said "Trail Project" instead.

Mass transit isn't the only form of transportation.

[bob rulz]

Like I would assume is the case in almost any city, crossing the freeway as a pedestrian east-west is a nightmare and basically severs the city in two. North Temple is the only east-west I-15 crossing where I would feel safe as a pedestrian (both in terms of safety from traffic, and from not feeling like I'm going to be robbed).

Since we'll never see I-15 demolished through Salt Lake City, I would love to see urban parks built over the freeway at 400S and 600N, instead of just pedestrian bridges. I know this has been done in Dallas (and probably elsewhere). Those both have the advantages of being close enough downtown to spur walkability and development to the underserved west side as well, while also creating something that people would actually enjoy walking through, instead of just a concrete walkway overlooking the freeway.

[airportvids]

Originally Posted by Stenar

Mass transit isn't the only form of transportation.

When ever anybody goes for a walk or a jog they don't ever say "I'm going to use transportation" For me, transportation doesn't involve feet.

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by asies1981

Post on some west side transportation projects.

Awesome article. Thanks for reporting on these seemingly small projects - I think they are indicative of a much healthier community than new road or transit projects. Any city can cart people around inside an isolated metal box - be it a car or train or bus. But only the best cities can get people to walk around out in the open, interacting with their neighbors and seeing perspectives and ideas unavailable to the people in metal boxes.

I can't wait to ride on the Jordan River Parkway bridge over the railroad tracks. It is going to be epic.

[ThePusherMan]

I biked the S line trail the other day for the first time (I usually head downtown not to Sugar House) and I gotta say, that linear park is pretty freaking awesome. I'm super supportive of more of that kind of thing happening all over the city. Let's daylight these creeks! Linear Parks everywhere!

[Hatman]

First pictures of the Provo Orem BRT buses:

https://www.rideuta.com/About-UTA/Active...ortation-Improvement-Project/What-is-BRT

[Hatman]

Also, with the Black Line going away again soon, I thought I would re-post my horrible map from earlier which includes the Black Line. This map is proposing a new routing structure that could be used if UTA were to 1) rebuild the interlocking at 4th and Main and 2) extend the 4th south line all the way to Salt Lake Central Station. All this could be ours if only we could just build 6 blocks of new track (less than a mile)

[bob rulz]

It would also finally justify the naming of "Salt Lake Central".

As of now, it's more like "Salt Lake Tucked Away In a Dumpy Corner".

[RC14]

^
^
I would make the yellow line an extension of the blue line.

[Makid]

Originally Posted by RC14

^
^
I would make the yellow line an extension of the blue line.

Agreed, this would take the blue as the loop through downtown between the U and eventually Lehi and beyond.

The Orange is perfect. Maybe the Yellow could be the 7th South 4th West (2nd Loop) once the Granary Streetcar has been completed.

For the Black line, I kind of like the idea of it going from the airport, to the Central Hub and then to the U. This would put increased transit on 4th South to help transform it. I don't think having the Black Line go down South Temple and Main to 4th is going to have as much of an impact. Maybe once the 4th West (2nd loop/Granary streetcar) extension is built, the Black Line would follow that from North Temple to 4th South rather than stopping at the Hub.

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by RC14

^
^
I would make the yellow line an extension of the blue line.

I agree. That would make things flow better - no trains wasting time switching ends at Salt Lake Central. But I would keep the two colors - it will help people understand the routing easier. So a train entering Salt Lake Central would switch it's color, similar to how Orange and Yellow trains in Portland do it:

Also, if we use Yellow, that means we get to have the German Flag on our map through the whole University Line!

Originally Posted by Makid

For the Black line, I kind of like the idea of it going from the airport, to the Central Hub and then to the U.

I understand your reasoning for the Black Line, but if there is already a line going straight to Salt Lake Central (blue/yellow lines), I think the Black Line should branch off to South Temple, in order to diversify the service. It would be the direct link between the U and Temple Square, or North Temple Station.

Regardless of routing, the map is meant to show that with a very minimal investment (just the 6 blocks between Salt Lake Central and Main Street) we could suddenly have 6 unique colored routes instead of only 3. This is some serious low-hanging fruit.

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by Hatman

Also, with the Black Line going away again soon, I thought I would re-post my horrible map from earlier which includes the Black Line. This map is proposing a new routing structure that could be used if UTA were to 1) rebuild the interlocking at 4th and Main and 2) extend the 4th south line all the way to Salt Lake Central Station. All this could be ours if only we could just build 6 blocks of new track (less than a mile)

You don't have a direct line between the airport and SLcentral. Why not have the yellow line continue to the airport instead of the black?

[Liberty Wellsian]

^That or reroute the green line. I think you have to connect the airport to the central bus station.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by airportvids

When ever anybody goes for a walk or a jog they don't ever say "I'm going to use transportation" For me, transportation doesn't involve feet.

When people go for a drive or ride a bus, they don't generally say they're going to use transportation, either.

[Hatman]

Here is proof of how different types of people collectively choose their media sources. KSL and the Deseret News ran the same article on the Provo Orem BRT buses, but the comment sections were so different. The KSL comments made me depressed for humanity, while the Deseret News comments (only 2, not a good sample size but whatever) made me feel better. I've spent nearly 2 years off and on working on this project and I'm just as confident as anyone that it will be a runaway success, prompting a BRT revolution along the whole of the Wasatch Front, and I felt surprisingly hurt by the amazing amount of scorn from the KSL crowd.
So thanks to everyone in this forum for being positive and thoughtful in our discussions on transportation (of all types ).
And here are some pictures from the articles:

[ThePusherMan]

^^^^ Super cool. How long until this is up and running? I used BRT in Mexico City and in Sydney so I have seen first hand how much good these things can do if the community embraces them. Fingers crossed it spreads like wild fire.

[EPdesign]

That is exciting. Great job man.

[EPdesign]

I wish the green line went All the way out to Magna. Just a wish...but for reals.