Salt Lake MSA Development Thread

[WeST]

What do you guys/girls think of using the Rocky Mountain power line corridor for a long park/bike path? It more or less runs the entire length of SL county. It is fairly straight, which would be great for bicycle commuters. I assume it is Rocky Mountain's land and so the cities or county could lease it from them. This would provide a lot more open space.

[anyiliang]

I know that in Plano Texas they have turned their power line corridor in to a park for running and bicycling. So, I do think that it would be feasible for SLC to do the same thing.

[esirhgih]

Most of it runs along the Jordan River, which already has the Parkway for running and biking. I'd much rather run along the river. On the parts of the parkway that do run under the power lines, you can hear them buzzing and popping overhead. Plus there's no shade under the lines because there are no trees.

[cololi]

The corridor is already passive open space. Using some parts for food production is a good idea.

[urbanboy]

Canyons' future: Fewer cars, more buses?



http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_13256310

[WeST]

Originally Posted by esirhgih

Most of it runs along the Jordan River, which already has the Parkway for running and biking. I'd much rather run along the river. On the parts of the parkway that do run under the power lines, you can hear them buzzing and popping overhead. Plus there's no shade under the lines because there are no trees.

As far as I can tell this isn't accurate. I followed the corridor and most of it is independent of the parkway. I agree that when I am in parts of Murray's parkway and you hear the lines popping and crackling, it isn't the most serene atmosphere, but that is why I suggested turning it into a "low impact commuter corridor". That would be bicyclists, walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and maybe even things like scooters that stay under a certain MPH. These people would not be primarily interested in recreating, but getting somewhere.
The benefit of using this instead of the parkway is you don't have to worry about slow people and the path is much more straight than the existing trail. It would be much more efficient.

[WeST]

Originally Posted by cololi

The corridor is already passive open space. Using some parts for food production is a good idea.

So do you think that a commuter corridor would be unfeasible or otherwise a bad idea? There is always an uneasiness for bikers when they ride on the road. The corridor also cuts through a lot of business parks and retail districts that, which would be great for those employees.

[urbanboy]

Originally Posted by WeST

As far as I can tell this isn't accurate. I followed the corridor and most of it is independent of the parkway. I agree that when I am in parts of Murray's parkway and you hear the lines popping and crackling, it isn't the most serene atmosphere, but that is why I suggested turning it into a "low impact commuter corridor". That would be bicyclists, walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and maybe even things like scooters that stay under a certain MPH. These people would not be primarily interested in recreating, but getting somewhere.
The benefit of using this instead of the parkway is you don't have to worry about slow people and the path is much more straight than the existing trail. It would be much more efficient.

Or perhaps this could be the corridor used for future bullet mag-lev trains connecting major cities like Salt Lake City, Boise, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, etc...

[WeST]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Or perhaps this could be the corridor used for future bullet mag-lev trains connecting major cities like Salt Lake City, Boise, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, etc...

I love the idea of Maglev trains because they beat the socks off driving times and are very clean. For them to be feasible here we need to have double our population or cut the cost of the trains by half. Further, I would suspect Rocky Mountain power doesn't want to have infrastructure there that would make working on their lines difficult. I think that Rocky Mountain would be wise to look at options where they could lease and collect revenue.

[cololi]

Originally Posted by WeST

So do you think that a commuter corridor would be unfeasible or otherwise a bad idea? There is always an uneasiness for bikers when they ride on the road. The corridor also cuts through a lot of business parks and retail districts that, which would be great for those employees.

As a bicycle commuter myself, I feel just fine on the road. I often do not like biking on shared trails when commuting because people don't walk in a straight line very often, dogs, even on leashes, are not a friendly mix for a bike commuter, and you often have to travel out of your way to find a dedicated bike path. For commuters, it is all about getting there as quickly as possible. For example, I don't take the street by my house with a bike lane because I would have to go about three blocks out of my way and the other streets have slow moving cars and enough room for them to pass me safely. Now that 1300 has one, I'll take it instead. I bet it will cut about 2-3 minutes off of my commute.

For those living or working close by the trail, it may be a good thing, but I do not think most bike commuters would be too willing to use it if other modes of movement were on it. Recently I sat on the Jordan River parkway trail to see how many commuters used the trail. It was pretty small, less than 10% of the people on the trail.

Now, when I am riding with my kids, it is a much more casual affair and those things don't worry me. I am always supportive of more trails for recreation. The corridor would be a good use for a trail, but I don't think there would be too much political support to build it. Primarily because of the relative close proximity to the Jordan River. now, if the corridor were at say 2700 W or 1300 E, than yeah, those that control the purse strings would get behind it.

[jtrent77]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Or perhaps this could be the corridor used for future bullet mag-lev trains connecting major cities like Salt Lake City, Boise, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, etc...

Your idea to bring mag-lev would be cool...but i don't think we would want it running right through the middle of the city, rather have it run along the west side and connect to a future trax station. There is no point of it running through the city because the absolute next nearest stop you would want would be provo and even that is pushing it.

This all said, I don't see mag-lev coming anywhere anytime soon because of the huge initial expense. It has been talked about connecting east coast cities (Boston, NYC, DC) and California (LA to SF) and so far everyone has said that the money that is being offered to even study it is barely a drop in the bucket...c'est la vie

[UTPlanner]

I think utilizing the Rocky Mountain Power corridor better is a great idea, whether it is for a future transit line or a regional trail system. In the city I work for we have a portion of that same line. We have been attempting to lease some property for a pocket park.

It is important to note that RMP does not own all the property under the lines. In some portions they simply have an easement for overhead lines. There are subdivisions that have been created adjacent and their lots extend underneath those lines.

In other portions they have some very long leases granted for pasture and farming. So there are some obstacles but certainly not anything that couldn't be overcome.

The biggest obstacle would be to get these cities that consider themselves an independant country sometimes to work together.

[WeST]

Originally Posted by UTPlanner

The biggest obstacle would be to get these cities that consider themselves an independent country sometimes to work together.

While I like the spirit of independence and free thinking that some cities portray, agree that sometimes cities seem to think that it is a zero sum game and another's gain must be their loss. I appreciated Cololi's input about the usefulness of this corridor and maybe my ideas won't work, but I hate the idea of so much open space going underutilized when open space is so highly sought after.

[delts145]

U. to enter 20-year lease for new Daybreak med center

Alliance » Kennecott will build the facility and then rent it out.



http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_13293548

University of Utah trustees on Tuesday agreed to enter a 20-year lease with Kennecott Utah Copper to develop a multi-speciality medical center at Daybreak.

Kennecott will build the 180,000-square-foot, $55 million facility at the Daybreak South TRAX station's southern terminus at 11400 South and provide a rent subsidy worth $12 million for the first five years of the U.'s occupancy. The financial terms of the lease have yet to be finalized...

.

[Orlando]

Okay. Here they are again.

[Orlando]

Work to begin on second phase of Valley Fair Mall Development in early '10.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5279/is_20090824/ai_n35648124/?tag=content;col1

[Orlando]

Big 60,000sf family entertainment center to be built in Draper

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5279/is_20090824/ai_n35648125/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

[Orlando]

200,000 sf retail center to be built in Heber w/ a giant super Walmart Nooo! Say goodbye to Main Street Heber! Walmart, the death killer of America's small town main street, is coming to town!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5279/is_20090824/ai_n35648127/?tag=content;col1

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Orlando

200,000 sf retail center to be built in Heber w/ a giant super Walmart Nooo! Say goodbye to Main Street Heber! Walmart, the death killer of America's small town main street, is coming to town!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5279/is_20090824/ai_n35648127/?tag=content;col1

I drive up to Heber every Friday... There is nothing happening at the Walmart site. It's been sitting there for a year with no buildings being built. I was wondering when it would ever start.

[Orlando]

Hate it or love it, here is a proposed apartment building for Bountiful.

http://www.axisarchitects.com/projects/projects.html#