Rush hour — plus U. game spur TRAX double whammy

Transit officials say they had a double-whammy day Thursday as downtown commuters struggled to get home and University of Utah football fans stuffed themselves into overflowing TRAX cars to get from downtown up to the stadium.

The crush of fans and commuters led to overflowing TRAX trains and delays for many trying to get to their destinations Thursday.

It was simply a case of bad timing, said Utah Transit Authority spokesman Kris McBride. "This game kind of hit in the middle of a peak travel period," he said.

Typically, McBride said, sports events either take place in the evenings or on a weekend, but Thursday's event took the TRAX system beyond its capacity. "We had every car we had out there," McBride said, putting a total of 33 cars in service.

With the game starting at 5:45 p.m., fans who chose to catch a quick dinner downtown became frustrated as already full trains sped off, only to be replaced by more full trains. McBride said UTA fielded complaints from several patrons. After the game, McBride said UTA managed to scramble shuttle buses that took patrons from the stadium stop to the Delta Center downtown to help with the crowds.

University of Utah spokeswoman Coralie Alder acknowledged that the game's scheduling put UTA in a tight spot. "We know it wasn't the best time for it to happen," she said, but added the university did not have much choice on the game time because the game was broadcast on ESPN.

McBride said better communication is needed between the university and UTA so they will be better prepared next time. "Obviously we need to communicate as best we can with UTA," Alder said.

Alder said the next televised game is scheduled for Oct. 11, a Saturday. The next game to land on a weekday is scheduled for 8 p.m., "so we won't have this problem for the rest of the season," Alder said.

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