Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[ajiuO]

I would like to simplify things even further. I actually think that it's ridiculous that we have two front runner station so close together... I actually think that the Greyhound bus station and amtrack should be moved to this location and that the current intermodal hub shoucold be removed... that way it would be right on the route from the airport both on the green line and my proposed yellow line.

[Hatman]

Hopefully this will fix some of the public trust problems UTA has. At least, from here on out. And certainly not from the loony bin that is the comments section of the Salt Lake Tribune. But among those of us who try to be objective, this should be a welcome change.

UTA to take the lead with developers to avoid controversial deals
http://www.sltrib.com/home/4511149-1...-the-lead-with

Also, the Farepay deal has been extended for another year. Use Farepay to get 20% of rail and 40% off bus fares.

[Hatman]

Also, on a non-transit note, I noticed yesterday a contractor doing soil testing near some bridges that will need to be replaced as part of the I-15 'technology corridor' rebuild in Lehi, currently scheduled for 2020. Rumors have it that this project could be bumped up a few years if state financing becomes available. UDOT is doing a lot of the prep work now to make the project as shovel-ready as possible, just in case this funding becomes available. As much as I dislike giving preferential treatment to one mode of transit at the expense of another (highways over transit especially) this project has the excuse of being a bottle-neck-buster, filling out the freeway between the point project and the Core project (including future-proofing for where the I-15/Mountain View Corridor Connector spaghetti bowl will go). So I say fine, whatever.

The rumored project I'm less happy about is the plan to add an extra lane on I-15 southbound from I-80 down to the point of the mountain. If that project proceeds without some serious money going towards a FrontRunner second track (at least along that same section), I will have quite a few angry rants to share on this thread!

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by Hatman

The rumored project I'm less happy about is the plan to add an extra lane on I-15 southbound from I-80 down to the point of the mountain. If that project proceeds without some serious money going towards a FrontRunner second track (at least along that same section), I will have quite a few angry rants to share on this thread!

I agree completely. I often wonder, if UDOT ever reads modern studies which continually point out that adding capacity to freeways DOES NOT reduce congestion. Sure it does in the short term, but within 3-5 years (I believe those numbers are accurate) congestion is right back at the pre capacity expansion level. The argument from road people is, well then the current capacity would just get that much worse. False. The majority of people change behaviors because of pain. That pain can range from the cost of gas or the time spent in traffic. So when gridlock hits, people explore other options, often times that option is transit.

I-15 from Spanish Fork to roughly Kaysville, does not need any more expansion, except for the connection that Hatman mentioned between The Point and The Core projects.

The perfect example of this continued widening is Houston. To help his case, Turner pointed to the Katy Freeway in Houston, or Interstate 10. A few years ago it was expanded to 26 lanes in some segments at a cost of $2.8 billion—good enough to earn the title of the “world’s widest freeway.” Despite all that new road capacity, rush-hour travel times increased between 2011 and 2014; in 2015, Turner pointed out, one segment of the Katy was ranked among the most congested roads in Texas.
Source http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/...ansion/458709/

ADDING CAPACITY DOES NOT REDUCE CONGESTION. PERIOD THE END.

[ImaJem]

I just had a rant on Twitter to UTA and UDOT. I do that from time to time (confession time: thats why I made one).

@RideUTA @UDOTRegionTwo Arrgh! Can't we double-track FR instead?
https://www.udot.utah.gov/projectpag...IND_FLAG:10071 …
(also included hatman's plan from last year)

(UTA)@ima_jem7 We'd love that, unfortunately it just isn't in our budget at this time.

@RideUTA I know. sigh...if udot was smart,they'd help pay to double track instead of building a useless lane. Plan for the Autonomous future!


@RideUTA @UDOTRegionTwo UTA & UDOT should have access to the same pot of money, instead of having separate agendas. Wider freeway≠less congestion


@RideUTA @UDOTRegionTwo Better transit=less congestion. If udot had their way congest will only be worse in 3yrs time! Paradigm shift needed!


@RideUTA @UDOTRegionTwo Sorry for the rant! You guys are great! Udot and UTA!


If you ask UTA something via Twitter they really do listen!
(they probably hate me by now though! )

[edit]
@ima_jem7 No apology needed! Keep an eye out for the next board meeting-- a good place to voice your concerns/needs. We announce them here.

I think I'll do that! (if I can make it...) Whose with me! Now if UDOT will listen, dunno...

[ImaJem]

I found some contact info at the bottom of the South Valley Projects page.
Who votes we write a convincing email?

southvalley@utah.gov

[Hatman]

Concerning the extra lane, maybe there are ways we could force an added lane to increase capacity. Such as making it a second express lane. Or, better yet, make it and 'MHOT' (Much-Higher-Occupancy-or-Toll) by saying 3+ people in the innermost express lane, then the regular 2+ people in the outer express lane. And of course open them up free to electric/autonomous vehicles.

On a happy note, this is happening:
Lehi working to improve city trail system

LEHI — Crews are constructing a trail to connect the Murdock Canal Trail to the Jordan River Parkway Trail. The completed trail will run along Clubhouse Drive, Garden Drive and Desert Forest Lane.

When finished, the trail will allow users to access both trails and other locations in between, including the Lehi FrontRunner station, Thanksgiving Point Golf Course, and various retail stores and restaurants.

The portion of the new trail that runs along Clubhouse Drive and Desert Forest Lane to the Jordan River Parkway Trail is expected to be complete by the end of November. The section that runs along Garden Drive is part of another project and will be constructed at a later time.

n addition, the city is planning to begin work to extend the Rail Trail from 300 West to 300 East in March, weather permitting. The 10-foot-wide, multiuse trail will run along State Street and existing rail lines.

This will be a great little connection - another bottleneck-buster in Lehi, this time for pedestrian/cycling trails.
By the way, has anyone tried the new segment of the Jordan River Trail through the Narrows, between Lehi and Draper? I did it last week in a little spare time I had. It was fantastic, though much steeper than I was expecting in some locations. It doesn't follow the river through the Riverton area, but instead follows a canal and climbs up the side of the canyon until eventually reaching the old railroad grade of the Salt Lake & Utah Railroad (An electrified interurban trolley line connecting Salt Lake City to Provo and Payson, abandoned 1947)

Anyway, the cycling infrastructure here is getting more and more fantastic. I love heading out and exploring new paved trails, because there are new ones every year! I can hardly keep up with them. Good for us!

[asies1981]

City is gathering more public input on the Transit Master Plan.

[ImaJem]

UTA is asking for public input for their 2017 budget.
http://www.rideuta.com/About-UTA/Ope...peak_democracy

I haven't posted my thoughts yet, but I was glad to see they're planning on overhauling the old TRAX trains (not sure exactly what that means, is this something they regularly do, or will this be major: i.e. improve accessibility or new paint job, etc.?)

I was also interested in the fact they're buying 59 new buses to replace old diesel ones. What I hoped UTA would do would be to replace some less busy routes (mostly in Utah County) with flex routes using smaller vehicles. That way the newer busses could be used elsewhere in the system. Smaller vehicles would also be much cheaper than 40 foot long busses.

[ImaJem]

UTA via Twitter:

Found out details - it’s a mechanical overhaul to maintain trains, increase reliability. Riders may not notice a difference

Aww, I was hoping for a new paint job at least...
So it sounds like these SD 100 and 160 trains will stick around for a while (not that that is a bad thing)
I usually avoid using blue line trains because of the ramp situation, it's a lot easier to board the newer trains (kind of, sometimes the blue button doesn't do anything, but I digress a little...)
Come to think of it, I watched a video about light rail in San Diego, and I noticed some trains had a mixture of S70s and SD160 cars...
If UTA repainted the old cars, they could do the same. They could ensure at least one s70 car is on every consist, but I'm not sure if they have enough cars to do that.

[Makid]

Apta finally released the Q2 2016 ridership numbers:

http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.PDF

Frontrunner: 15.1K weekday riders. Down 2.75% from Q1 2016. This is down 3.21% from Q2 2015.
Trax: 58.7K weekday riders. Down 0.82% from Q1 2016. This is down 2.81% from Q2 2015.
Bus: 67.6K weekday riders. Down 0.76% from Q1 2016. This is down 1.17% from Q2 2014.

Total: 150.3 weekday riders. This is also down 1.02% from Q1 2016. This is down 2.02% from Q2 2015.

Q2 has historically been the lowest quarter for transit ridership along the Wasatch Front.

The numbers appear to have equalized and are basically steady. We do know that bus service will be increasing over the next few quarters as well as in Utah County provided the Orem/Provo BRT stays on target.

Rail appears to be steady and any growth will be based on economic forces (Gas prices, employment and housing).

Without any direct construction, enhancements (black line), fee updates or frequency changes, I do think that both Trax and Frontrunner will have minimal changes to ridership.

While this news may be depressing for some, I do think that this is good news as it will be easier to track increases due to economic expansion/relocation as additional projects come online (111 being the biggest currently).

For upcoming rail projects, they will be primarily within SLC (Black Line, Streetcar lines and Trax loop construction) but this will be done over time (10+ years est.). One exception to this is the Trax extension to Lehi.

I do think that there is an increasing chance that we will see some movement in the State Legislature this year in trying to get this project moved to the near term as a way to boost jobs in Northern Utah County and Southern SL County. This will also be used as a way to entice redevelopment of the existing prison site once the new prison is completed and the residents relocated.

[ImaJem]

UTA just published their 2017 State of Good Repair
http://rideuta.com/news/2016/11/2017...epair-Projects

[ImaJem]

I got bored and started watching this:
The Future of (Utah) State Transportation.
Later he talks about some pretty cool ideas.
I'd definitely recommend.
• Video Link
(Link if it doesn't work)

I don't remember who said it, but it'd be awesome if UDOT and UTA merged. That way they could have access to the same pot of money. Also, UTA has become a dirty name here and no one wants to fund them with sales tax increases. I also think this is important with likely federal budget cuts for transit with a (dare I say it...) Trump Presidency.
I'm not sure how to make this happen, but I want to hear your input, what would a merge look like? How can we make this happen?

[delts145]

Rumor has it that both Nancy Pelosi and Pres.-elect Trump are big on ramping up much needed infrastructure investment. Pelosi even went so far as to say she was looking forward to Trump's presidency because she felt Congress might finally get a lot done with infrastructure. Hopefully, the rumors are true, as the Wasatch Front has a lot of significant projects on the board that could possibly be bumped up.

[TonyAnderson]

Originally Posted by Makid

Apta finally released the Q2 2016 ridership numbers:

http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.PDF

Without any direct construction, enhancements (black line), fee updates or frequency changes, I do think that both Trax and Frontrunner will have minimal changes to ridership.

.

Though there's a large amount of development near transit stations in regards to residential and office - I would think this will contribute to ridership increases.

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by ImaJem

I got bored and started watching this:
The Future of (Utah) State Transportation.
Later he talks about some pretty cool ideas.
I'd definitely recommend.

(Link if it doesn't work)

I don't remember who said it, but it'd be awesome if UDOT and UTA merged. That way they could have access to the same pot of money. Also, UTA has become a dirty name here and no one wants to fund them with sales tax increases. I also think this is important with likely federal budget cuts for transit with a (dare I say it...) Trump Presidency.
I'm not sure how to make this happen, but I want to hear your input, what would a merge look like? How can we make this happen?

You don't need to put in the whole URL just the bit after the V=



• Video Link

[Liberty Wellsian]

^too Tony Robbins. Not enough meat imo.

[Hatman]

I took FrontRunner today! TRAX was having issues with something, so I decided to check out my old commuting mode again for old time's sake (I know - I'm a total nerd and I've already made my peace with it). And, to my surprise, I found the new and improved bike car!

Here is my beautiful bike in the upper rack:

And the whole car:


Several things made me very happy.
1) The bike racks can be accessed individually. No need to ever have to lift your bike up and over some other dude's bike to get your trapped bike out.
2) There is room for 15 bikes. This is much more than the older and less convenient bike racks are designed to handle.
3) The seating on the lower level has been turned perpendicular in order to leave enough room for the bikes. It makes the lower level feel much roomier. I also like how they have dangling handles to help people get up and down, or even to hold onto if you're a standee in the bike car.
4) That FrontRunner map is icing on the cake.

I hope UTA transforms all its bike cars to be this way. It is such a better system than the old one.

Other thoughts:
Salt Lake Central Station is still an embarrassment. It's got good bones, but its still just a skeleton of what it could be. Not much of a station, really, just a concrete patio in a bad part of town. Let's just say I'm impatient for improvements to be made.
FrontRunner really needs to be double-tracked. The southbound left Salt Lake Central at an encouraging speed, right on time - but then we jostled into a siding and stopped. The northbound was late, and so we sat their until we were just as late as it was. It's just amazing to me that within 2 minutes of leaving the 'cushion' station (Salt Lake Central gives trains a chance to catch up on their schedules) we were already in a siding and late. I predict FrontRunner ridership will plateau and stagnate and maybe even begin to decline until trains can run on time. This is a serious shortcoming of the whole system, and it needs to be fixed ASAP.

But I like the bike cars. Good work there.

[ImaJem]

Okay, so I was thinking back to when I made my own linear map (and bus connections) and remembered I was going to make a sign to go up at every FrontRunner station.
Yesterday, I started to make one for Provo station.
For this I used a basic text editor, no fancy illustrator involved.
This doesn't have any UTA branding, I'll leave that to them.

Please tell me any suggestions. I'm hoping to send this over to UTA later.
I don't think every station will have all major destinations on it (this takes up a whole 8.5/11 page! (minus margins))

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by delts145

Rumor has it that both Nancy Pelosi and Pres.-elect Trump are big on ramping up much needed infrastructure investment. Pelosi even went so far as to say she was looking forward to Trump's presidency because she felt Congress might finally get a lot done with infrastructure. Hopefully, the rumors are true, as the Wasatch Front has a lot of significant projects on the board that could possibly be bumped up.

Trump's idea of infrastructure investment is selling off our current infrastructure to become toll bridges and toll roads, etc., to enrich his already wealthy buddies.