First, her group had to get legal clearance from the university and the city. After that, the group had to seek permission from businesses to paint on their buildings, as well as permission from UTA to cross the tracks at certain spots.

"In the beginning, we had a tough time getting businesses to go with us," Martinez said. The effort was a good lesson for her art students, she said, in putting together a proposal and soliciting before city councils and businesses. At first, she said many businesses demanded that students paint advertising for their companies. After the artists explained the significance of their proposal to community culture, Martinez said several came around. "Now we have businesses calling us," she said.

Jim Rudd, owner of Standard Builders Supply, said he is all for a solution to the graffiti that keeps springing up on the back of his business. "I'm all for anything to make it look better. It's pretty ugly looking and there are some ugly things along that route. Whatever we can do to make it look better, I'm all for it," Rudd said.

Martinez said the money earned from the murals, paid for by South Salt Lake City and UTA, was enough to take the students on a trip to New York, to study key works of art. The mural class will take up again during the fall semester at the U.

Jones said the mural class is just one of the partnerships that UTA is forging in the art community. In the past, UTA has worked with organizations such as the Salt Lake City Arts Council in planning art work for stations. From the stacked bronze books at the library station, to the abstract bone sculptures at the new medical center stop, UTA's efforts have been applauded by the art community, said Nancy Boskoff, executive director for the Salt Lake City Arts Council.

"It has really helped artists cut their teeth," Boskoff said, and has transformed the city into an art gallery. "That's one of the things about public art, it allows everybody to become an art critic," Boskoff said.

One of the more polarizing pieces has been the sculpture made from bicycle rims at the 900 East station. UTA officials say they have received feedback from people wondering, "What were they thinking?"

"Kids and engineers tend to like it," Boskoff said. "They like to see how it's put together."

The quirky sculpture has some personal meaning for UTA employee Stephen Frey, who in 1979 rode his bike around the world with his brother and a friend. Frey said he donated a bike rim to the art piece. "I estimated I rode about 14,500 miles on that rim," Frey said. "Sometimes when I drive by I try to figure out which one it is."

Jones said UTA will continue to include art in its designs, particularly with the upcoming Mid-Jordan and West Valley City lines. Jones said the art in those future stations will reflect those communities. Planned commuter rail stations may include more impressive pieces, given that the stations will be much larger than TRAX stops.

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