Trax and taxes: Would expanded light rail be worth the price?

People said no one would ride it. TRAX would be a high-priced failure.

But on opening day, Dec. 4, 1999, the crowds came. People stood in the cold for hours, waiting to speed around town on a light-rail train, as if it were a ride at Disneyland.

That was a Saturday and the rides were free. On Monday, when a one-way ride cost $1, cars were still filled to capacity, and glitches and delays plagued the commute. In the weeks that followed, problems of that first run were fixed, and riders continued to come.

Today, average weekday ridership on TRAX is 57,500, nearly four times more than original projections estimated. Salt Lake County residents say they generally support the system, and they have been willing to put money behind it. In 2000 they voted for a 1/4-cent sales-tax hike to build commuter rail, increase bus service and expand TRAX by the year 2030.

But a greater test may come this November, when the Salt Lake County Council may ask voters to approve a property-tax increase that will cost homeowners an average of $95 a year on a $180,000 house. The money would go to build four TRAX extensions over the next seven years. The lines would extend to Draper, South Jordan, West Valley and the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Expanding the system in seven years will cost about $1.2 billion. Current plans call for residents to pay for $875 million through the property-tax hike. The increase would allow Salt Lake County to obtain a 30-year bond for the Utah Transit Authority to begin construction.

Supporters say space for new highways is fast being taken by housing and business development, and traffic congestion will increase with the state's rapid growth. The benefits of expanding now will be long-lasting: better travel options, improved quality of life, and more business opportunities for the state.

"This is the future," said John Inglish, UTA general manager. "This will have nearly as big an impact on the valley as the original freeway system did."

But critics question the cost. They say multimillion-dollar rail systems don't solve traffic problems, and the proposed lines will not go through every city. Light rail also steals ridership from buses, and low-income residents worry their travel options won't actually increase because they will be limited to the locations that TRAX serves.

For cities not directly part of expansion plans, it's not a perfect deal.

"TRAX has kind of turned out to be a way to get people to and from economic centers," said Russ Wall, mayor of Taylorsville. "That's problematic if you're not on the list."

Rails for the rich?

Current lines, from downtown to the University of Utah and to Sandy, are but a beginning, transit officials say.