Transit funding: a pileup waiting to happen?

Transportation officials have been sounding this horn for years: Without new money for road and transit improvements, more and more commuters can expect congestion and delays.

This year, the state has additional and unexpected revenues — but with so many hands reaching for the pot, it's already looking like a pileup waiting to happen, lawmakers say.

"Any time there's a pile of cash and a group of individuals with recognizable needs, you can expect there's going to be emotion in the discussion," said Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse.

Transportation won't be the exception.

For nearly two years, a special task force has worked to develop a mammoth funding proposal for new road and transit projects. It's the most aggressive plan to fund transportation in years — and has already produced heated debate.

The proposed package calls for $4.5 billion over the next 10 years to fund projects like commuter rail to Provo, light rail extensions and the Mountain View Corridor.

The money would come from sales tax adjustments, gas tax and title fee increases — plus a shift of $180 million each year from the state's General Fund.

Most lawmakers agree the money is needed, but the question is, how much?

Transportation planners and business leaders say even $4.5 billion isn't enough.

"We have major parts of the system that are backing up each night," said Sam Klemm, spokesman for the Wasatch Front Regional Council. "In the next five to seven years, we're going to reach a tipping point."

But lawmakers are admittedly leery of a tax increase, saying budget priorities should be adjusted first.

In a January meeting sponsored by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Senate President John Valentine called for a slow and steady approach to funding transportation — not a massive one-time push.

Utahns appear to agree.

A new Dan Jones & Associates opinion poll for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV shows that 67 percent of Utahns are opposed to an increase in the gasoline tax, which helps underwrite transportation projects.

Of the 623 surveyed, only 14 percent said they would favor a 5-cent increase in the per-gallon gasoline tax, while 16 percent said they favored placing the current sales tax on gasoline.