Davis seeking input on transportation

LAYTON — By August, local leaders in Davis County should have a good handle on what residents say are the county's most pressing transportation needs.

The Davis County Council of Governments, a committee consisting of 15 mayors, county commissioners and representatives of civic organizations, has commissioned a phone survey set to begin in the next few weeks.

The sample size is expected to be between 500 and 600.

"The results of this will help us formulate our strategy on a variety of issues," said Davis Commissioner Bret Millburn.

Some of those issues revolve around planning for growth in Davis County and how to alleviate congestion.

But the survey results could also help commissioners determine whether to let county residents vote on a special sales tax that would be dedicated to funding transportation and transit projects in Davis County.

Commissioners have until Sept. 1 to decide whether to place such a measure on November's ballot.

Davis voters turned down a sales tax increase for transportation and transit during the 2007 election. The chambers of commerce in Weber, Davis and southern Box Elder counties had campaigned heavily for voters to pass the .25-cent sales-tax increase, but it passed only in Weber and Box Elder.

Millburn said the potential for a ballot issue isn't the focus of the study, though.

"It will help us get a sense of how people feel about transportation, different modes of transportation and differences geographically," he said. "It provides a baseline to work from for the future."

Most of the survey questions deal specifically with Davis County, but others have a regional perspective, Millburn recently told the COG.

Transportation changes have come to Davis County in full force over the past year. Interstate 15 has been expanded between Clearfield and Layton, and a new lane is being added between Layton and Farmington this summer.

FrontRunner, a new commuter rail line, opened in April, and Legacy Parkway, a 14-mile highway between Farmington and Salt Lake City, is expected to open in September.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com

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