Main St. plan doesn’t push streetcars
Mar 25, 2010 | 60 views | 0 
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| 2 | | Centerville Community Development Director Cory Snyder reviewed the plan during a recent work session, emphasizing to the gathered residents that the plan simply states that mass transit of some kind would be good for Main Street only if it didn’t widen the already existing road.
The mayor and city council sent a letter to UTA earlier this week emphasizing that city officials had not expressed a preference for a certain type of transit option.
“I think many of our residents are getting the idea that the city is pushing the streetcar plan, but that is definitely not the case,” said Centerville City Manager Steve Thacker, specifying that the streetcars are UTA’s idea. “The plan states that we think public transit is important on Main Street, but only if it could be done within the existing roadway. We never specify a certain type of mass transit.”
Though the plan was already approved by the city council in 2007, city officials will hold an open house and public hearing on the plan sometime in the next few months.
“We’re reopening the issue for public comment if people want to weigh in,” said Thacker. “We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity.”
The Centerville Main Street Master Plan was designed to give city officials general guidelines on future development in the area. Though the specific changes will differ depending on which area of Main Street a new building is being built, the general thrust of the proposed plan and zoning changes include less parking and landscaping for new buildings and greater flexibility in potential use.
jwardell@davisclipper.com
As I read this article from the Clipper, I thought of a letter written by Centerville's Mayor and sent to the UTA. The letter is dated November 20, 2007. The letter reads in part, "As you know, we have been studying Centerville's Main Street over the past several months to develop a comprehensive land use plan... A fixed rail transit system would work well on our Main Street between Pages and Parrish Lane to stimulate the type of development envisioned. The street car concept that has been a topic of recent discussion could be great enhancement in making our land use plans feasible." It sounds like the city or at least the Mayor, would like a rail system on Main Street.
ReplyDeleteI think Cory Snyder and Steve Thacker need to understand that Centerville's mayor and some members of the city council DO WANT a fixed rail transit system on Main Street. Consider the following: "Without public transportation, the city's plans for the future of Main Street will likely never come to pass. That was the consensus the Centerville City Council reached at their meeting last week during discussions about implementing certain aspects of the recently completed Main Street Master Plan. As a result of this, the council approved the sending of a letter to UTA and UDOT stating that a fixed rail transit system, rather than a full two-track light rail system, would work well along a specific stretch along the city's Main Street. 'If we don't have fixed rail, the whole main street plan is essentially pointless,' said Centerville City Council member Justin Allen" (see Davis County Clipper, "City: Main street plan requires public transit", 11/12/07).
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