Don’t expect streetcars to come to Bountiful soon
Oct 18, 2010 | 491 views | 0 
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| | 4 | | Bountiful City planner Aric Jensen said he believes some of the Salt Lake City lines are shovel ready, that is, builders can proceed as soon as funding is available.
That’s not the case in Bountiful or Centerville, where there’s been no engineering or other preparatory work done — and that may be several years out.
“Much (of South Davis’ streetcar plans) will depend on if Salt Lake City has success with their lines,” Jensen said. “It will take a more progressive city like Salt Lake to initially install it and make it a success.”
He said that if Salt Lake commuters readily take to the streetcars, it will pave the way for streetcars to be considered, not only in south Davis County, but in areas of Salt Lake County, like Rose Park — areas Jensen described as being on the fringe of Salt Lake City.
One of the problems he sees with proceeding with a streetcar plan for Bountiful and Centerville is that people don’t seem to know a lot about how they operate.
Jensen describes South Davis residents as being wary and cautious about streetcars, much the same as Wasatch Front residents were about light rail before the TRAX lines were installed. Now, TRAX is pretty much viewed as just another way to get around Salt Lake City and many Davis County residents use TRAX when in Salt Lake City. He believes the same thing will happen with streetcars.
Jensen said commuter rail provides a means for commuters to get to a destination 15, 20 or 25 miles away, and light rail can provide transportation for those 10-15 miles away. Streetcars are for those who need to travel only a mile to five miles. “It’s a much more personal type of transit.”
Residents’ wariness was pretty evident at two public hearings hosted by the Utah Transit Authority last spring in Centerville and Bountiful,where hundreds of residents turned out to protest the plan and the proposed route.
As to future streetcar funding in Davis County, “a lot depends on what happens in the (November) elections. Much depends on the political structure.”
Read more:Davis County Clipper - News, Classifieds, Events and Businesses in Davis County, Utah
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ReplyDeleteHey, you guys who are opposing the streetcar line, listen up, you are stupid! You just "don't seem to know a lot about how they operate." Get with it will you! Forget about the higher taxes, forget about empty buses, forget about an empty rail system that already runs through the county. You have got to get with it people!
ReplyDeleteI have never claimed to be a genious but I understand that I DO NOT WANT LIGHTRAIL behind my home, infront of my schools, changing my town. That article is distrubing.
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