Councilman Randy Horiuchi, meanwhile, called the council's decision "forward-thinking," adding that a light-rail corridor will open up as land is purchased for the Mountain View Corridor highway.

In Provo, the Utah County Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of the $10 vehicle-registration fee increase. The fee is expected to generate about $2.6 million annually for the county.

By adopting the ordinance before Saturday's deadline, Utah County will also get a share of the $10 million in matching state funds set aside during the last legislative session. "That's a little bit of an incentive," said Commissioner Larry Ellertson.

The lure of matching money and its potential to help the county better address future transportation needs led mayors from 21 cities in Utah County to pass a resolution in support of the fee last week at a meeting of the Mountainland Regional Planning Committee.

---

E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com, jpage@desnews.com, and dsmeath@desnews.com