Legacy deal backed

Fifty-one percent of Davis residents were opposed to the ban on truck traffic; 42 percent supported it. And 63 percent were opposed to the 55 mph speed limit; 32 percent supported it.

When it comes to billboards, though, Davis County residents are adamant. Sixty-eight percent favor the billboard ban, whereas only 14 percent opposed it.

By approving the settlement agreement, the state is now on track to begin construction of the Legacy Parkway next spring.

The Utah Department of Transportation will need to apply for federal permits and then go back to court to ask that the injunction on the road be lifted. The injunction was imposed in 2002 after a successful lawsuit by the Sierra Club, Utahns for Better Transportation and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

The Legislature overwhelmingly approved the settlement, despite an advertising blitz by settlement opponents chagrined over the precedence of allowing environmental groups to dictate transportation policy.

The survey was conducted Nov. 10 to 12 and included interviews with 400 Utahns statewide. It has a margin of error of 5 percent.

Dan Jones & Associates has conducted research for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a proponent of the settlement; Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who had sought federal legislation to allow Legacy to move ahead; and the Utah Transit Authority, which is involved in Davis County transit projects that will receive money as a result of the Legacy settlement.

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Contributing: Nicole Warburton

E-mail: spang@desnews.com