Utahns favor Provo-S.L. rail, willing to pay

PROVO — Utahns are in favor of a commuter rail system connecting Provo and Salt Lake City. And many of them say they'd be willing to pay more taxes to see that happen.

In a new poll con- ducted Nov. 10-12 for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, Dan Jones & Associates asked 400 Utahns whether the commuter rail system should be extended from Salt Lake City to Provo and how supportive they would be of a tax increase to help fund such a project.

The Utah Transit Authority is expected to complete a commuter rail line from Salt Lake City north to Pleasant View, north of Ogden, in 2008.

A whopping 70 percent of those surveyed said that commuter rail "definitely" should also run from Salt Lake City to Provo, and 18 percent said it "probably" should be extended. Five percent of those polled were opposed to the idea.

Respondents were less enthusiastic but still mostly positive when asked to gauge their level of support for a tax increase to extend the commuter rail line.

In all, 65 percent said they'd be willing to support a tax increase — but 38 percent of those opted for "somewhat willing" instead of "very willing."

Fourteen percent were "not very willing" and 17 percent weren't willing at all.

With both questions, there is a 5 percent margin of error.

The results of the poll didn't come as a surprise to UTA officials, who said it's what passengers and communities have been telling them for years — even though some Utah County officials haven't been supportive of a tax increase for commuter rail, saying they don't have a clear idea about the project and would rather spend money on roads.

"From all of the credible parties that we talk to, whether it's political, business, community, residential — particularly in Utah County — we hear that" they want commuter rail from Salt Lake City to Utah County, said Orrin T. Colby Jr., president of the UTA Board of Trustees. "It tickles me to see another affirmation of what we feel like we've known all along."

UTA spokesman Justin Jones said the survey results show that there is "great public support for transportation solutions that include transit."

"I think it's important, too, for elected officials to know this kind of information and understand what their constituents' views are on this issue," Jones said.

Extending commuter rail into Utah County is one transportation alternative the Utah Department of Transportation has identified for detailed study in an I-15 corridor environmental impact statement. All five options can be viewed and commented on at www.udot.utah.gov/i15utahcounty.

"We certainly want people to look at the Web site and voice their opinion if (commuter rail) is what they want the study to continue to pursue," Jones said.

Colby said UTA purchased the Union Pacific right of way from Payson to Brigham City, and he expects that commuter rail eventually will utilize all of that right of way.

"We wouldn't have acquired that if we didn't think that would be the eventuality," he said. "Personally, I think (commuter rail into Utah County) is going to be built. The question is: Are we going to get it built before I can't use it?"

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E-mail: jpage@desnews.com