Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[WeST]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

Or perhaps land for a community permaculture garden. Unless you don't think food is a good investment.

No food is a waste of time, I was thinking that land could be more useful for something like this:



Actually do think food is a good idea and a permaculture garden would be great as long as it is run by a private organization. I don't want the city running gardens and getting involved in that business. Further, I do question whether the idea of trying to make the Wasatch Front totally self-sustaining is wise. We have scarce water resources so producing the food in regions that get plenty of water, such as the Central Valley in California seems to be a better use of resources.

[urbanboy]

We have enough water, we just waste so much of it on grassy lawns.


I think the layers of a farm scraper give the food and watering process an advantage.

[WeST]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

We have enough water, we just waste so much of it on grassy lawns.


I think the layers of a farm scraper give the food and watering process an advantage.

Well this is a chart from 2000 that breaks down water usage in Utah. I am not convinced you are right about "grassy lawns" being the biggest problem. I believe public supply is the "grassy lawns" issue


Source: Utah Foundation- http://www.utahfoundation.org/reports/?page_id=331

[WeST]

Delta suspending Salt Lake City-to-Tokyo flights


http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7515452

This hurts. Hopefully this isn't a nice way of canceling it.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by WeST

We have scarce water resources so producing the food in regions that get plenty of water, such as the Central Valley in California seems to be a better use of resources.

Since when did the Central Valley get plenty of water? It's a desert. Canals, irrigation, you name it. We get more water here than they do in the Central Valley. The soil is more fertile, so that's why the grow so much. If you are solely referring to the Sacramento Valley, they get about 20 inches a year whereas SL valley gets around 18. The southern Central valley gets very little rain. I lived in Bakersfield for 2 years. It was dusty, dry and miserable.

[cololi]

Originally Posted by wrendog

I lived in Bakersfield for 2 years. It was dusty, dry and miserable.

That may be the understatement of the year. Bakersfield sucks.

[goldcntry]

Absolutely... The Central Valley at the time of John Sutter and the Gold Rush was dry desert and/or grass lands with swampy rivers that met into one big swampy delta. Irrigation ditches, levees (sp), upland resevoirs all turned the accumulated sierra silt into the bread basket the San Jouquin Valley is today... but turn off the water... empty the resevoirs to save a two-inch fish from extinction (delta smelt) and the valley dries up like Kanab after a rainstorm. I remember building 'snowmen' out of tumbleweeds when we lived in Manteca when I was a kid before all the developments made Manteca a bed-bug community (a.k.a. suburban sprawl run amok)...

[WeST]

Compromise in works on potential TRAX site on Indian village

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/70532...-on-Indian-village.html?linkTrack=rss-30

Gov. Gary Herbert was meeting today with officials from the Utah Transit Authority, and the environmental and Native American communities to discuss a sensitive piece of land in Draper that has been eyed as a future FrontRunner South Commuter Rail station.

The property, at roughly 13500 South near the Jordan River, is the site of a 3,000-year-old Native American village that may have served as a winter camping quarters for several generations of hunter-gatherer groups.

Today, the land is one of a few undeveloped swaths along the Jordan River, and environmentalists want it to remain that way since migratory birds en route to the Great Salt Lake frequent the area.

[urbanboy]

I think this is great news! Good work Governor Herbert!

[urbanboy]

U Car Share offers Utahns a new way to get around town

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=7584771

[WeST]

Originally Posted by urbanboy

U Car Share offers Utahns a new way to get around town

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=7584771

I am a big fan of this program. I think that this is a significant step toward making areas of the valley mass transit friendly. I hope they dramatically expand the scope of this.

[i-215]

I hope it works. I wonder if U-Haul will find their cars all trashed out 6 months from now.

I mean, just look at their trucks.

[WeST]

Originally Posted by i-215

I hope it works. I wonder if U-Haul will find their cars all trashed out 6 months from now.

I mean, just look at their trucks.

I thought the same thing. If they do it right then it should not receive anymore wear and tear than a rental car would. The biggest thing that you can do is require members to pass a credit check. There are a lot of slobs and knuckleheads that would be weeded out through that check. If anyone is able to, then those cars will get hammered pretty fast.

[Future Mayor]

You have to have a U Car membership card, which is what you swipe to get into the car. This will allow them to track who had it when. I love this idea, there are a lot of things that SLC and the Wasatch Front that many larger cities and metro area would love to have, such as this, light rail and commuter rail. I love it here.

[jtrent77]

I'm surprised that ZipCar (www.zipcar.com) didn't get in there first, but I guess right now they are just in the much bigger cities. They have been in D.C. for quite a while now. Many areas actually have designated parking spots for the zipcars (this is for the unused car to be parked, not for a zipcar to park in when they take it to the grocery store for example) so that they are easily accessible by everyone.

Obviously the program is just starting in Utah and thus is going to be quite limited for at least a while, but to become more successful I would imagine that they are going to have to have zipcars available in areas that may not be next door to a mass transit station but are in a densely populated area...sugarhouse might be a good option. It would also be wise of them to start the program with cars at BYU since that campus is must more of a people living close by without necessarily have cars.

Finally, I hope the program does work in Utah, but it is easier in areas when you only occassionally need a car--maybe once a week or so; start getting much higher than that and the economics start going down a bit (and yes i realize it includes gas and insurance).

[esirhgih]

UTA Change day is next week.
A link to the changes is here:
http://www.rideuta.com/ridingUTA/routeChanges/default.aspx

Notably, there is new regular TRAX service (every 30 min.) from Sandy to University:



Also, the travel time on FrontRunner has been reduced by 6 minutes.

This was kind of interesting, they've also added 3 new routes called "Lifts", which will deviate from their regular routes by up to 3/4 of a mile if you make arrangements ahead of time and pay an extra dollar. I suppose this is a good alternative given that there are in areas with little transit use. It will make it easier for people to get to the bus without adding routes that wouldn't be used except by a single person. It will be interesting to see how they play out over time.

http://www.rideuta.com/utaInfo/bannerDet...ageBannerID=135&bannerMode=Random+Images

[cololi]

notably, no Sandy trains go to Central Station.

[WeST]

Does anyone know the build out time frame for the Intermodal Hub? It seems to be about a third the size of what it eventually will be. What else are they planning on adding? I know Greyhound, TRAX and commuter rail are there, but what else? Is it just added capacity as things get busier?

[ski_steve]

S. Salt Lake joins Utah capital's bid for streetcar cash

South Salt Lake has agreed to pony up $2.5 million if the federal government pitches in $35 million to build the Sugar House streetcar.

Last week, Salt Lake City also approved a $2.5 million match -- the other half of a required local pledge -- to snatch a "TIGER" grant, part of federal stimulus funds.

The money would cover the bulk of the cost of the $46 million, two-mile rail line, connecting a TRAX station at 2100 South and 250 West to the Sugar House business district.

Grant recipients are expected to be announced in January. If Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake score the funds, the streetcar could be completed in early 2012.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13215884?source=rss

[WeST]

Utah worries new bill will short-shrift roads

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12931963

"Utah transportation officials fear a proposed six-year federal highway-spending bill will siphon money from new roads in growing states like Utah and reward transit systems instead.

They also worry the proposed Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2009 puts more authority in federal hands."

"I'm also in favor of transit," said Commissioner Meghan Holbrook, who represents Salt Lake County, "but in reality we have to be very much in favor of roads."

The last transportation reauthorization, six years ago, steered about 82 percent of federal dollars to highways and 18 percent to mass transit. The new bill would make the split about 78-22, although both would get tens of billions more than last time. Another $50 billion would go to several planned intercity high-speed rail lines, using a new federal "infrastructure bank."

"The Utah Transportation Commission voted last week to write a letter opposing that direction to the bill's sponsor, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee."



I don't remember this story being posted before.