• Most important, while UDOT tries to portray the plaintiffs as being at fault for exercising their legitimate democratic rights to seek judicial review, the plain fact is that the Court halted the project because it was handled illegally. While we do not wish to politicize the judicial process, it is hard to avoid the fact that the Tenth Circuit decision was issued unanimously by three judges who had been appointed by Republican presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, respectively). The project was stopped because the process by which it was approved was unlawful, a process we continue to try to correct to this day.

Governor, underlying this immediate tempest is a far more important consideration, which is the manner in which the legitimate growth and transportation needs in the North Corridor can be met in as fiscally and environmentally responsible a way as possible. We firmly believe that the Citizen's Quality Growth Alternative will best serve the long-term interests of the State of Utah and its citizens, and is most consistent with the policies identified in the Envision Utah program in which you have played such a vital role. Our proposal can meet all of the stated purposes of the Legacy project, at a far lower cost than the existing plan, while avoiding most of Legacy's serious environmental consequences.

For these reasons, and despite the animosity that was unfortunately regenerated this week, we continue to embrace the opportunity to discuss our proposals as openly as possible. We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss these issues further, if at all possible when our consultants are in town next week to meet with UDOT.

Sincerely,

Robert Adler

Utahns For Better Transportation

Lawson LeGate

Senior Regional Representative, Sierra Club

Roger Borgenicht

Utahns For Better Transportation

Lynn DeFreitas

Executive Director, Friends of Great Salt Lake