It appears to be a question of fairness for residents in west Salt Lake County.

As for those in north Utah County, it's all about speed.

That pretty much sums up the collective attitudes of residents who have attended the Utah Department of Transportation's town hall-style meetings about Mountain View Corridor and its potential as a toll road.

The west-side freeway is proposed to run from I-80 in Salt Lake County to northwest Utah County. UDOT officials have said the only identified way to get the road built in the near future would involve tolling.

That led to cries of "that's not fair" from Salt Lake County's fast-growing west-side cities, where residents and elected officials argue that transportation is a regional issue and should be funded regionally.

After listening to concerns and complaints about tolling in the Salt Lake County meetings, UDOT officials found that Utah County residents were more interested in how quickly the west-side freeway could be ready for use.

"They don't have access to other facilities that can move people," said UDOT project manager Teri Newell, particularly referring to Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain residents. "They've all be struggling on Lehi Main Street."

UDOT's visit to Saratoga Springs on May 19 has been the best attended of the town hall meetings, drawing between 60 and 70 people.

Meetings over the past 10 days in Eagle Mountain, American Fork, Pleasant Grove and Lindon each attracted between 15 and 30 residents, who listened to a short presentation from UDOT on statewide transportation funding issues, viewed maps of the proposed freeway alternatives and were able to ask questions or make comments.

"We wanted to get good information out, hear what people had to say and give them an opportunity to ask questions," Newell said. "I think we were pretty successful in that."

In Lindon and Pleasant Grove, residents and city officials seemed to be most concerned about what the freeway alternatives would do to areas of potential development, as well as businesses that may need to be relocated.

Others expressed concern over the amount of traffic from the proposed freeway that would be connecting to I-15 in the Pleasant Grove/Lindon area.

"It's gridlock now (on I-15)," said Nila Wooton, of Lindon.

Of those Utah County residents who asked about tolling, most just wanted to understand how it would work rather than weigh in for or against the idea, Newell said.

In Saratoga Springs, some residents voiced their concerns over alignment alternatives that could impact homes.

Newell said she expects a large turnout for the July 19 town hall meeting in Lehi, where proposed freeway alternatives may result in some homes being bulldozed.

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Contributing: Autumn Linford and Amy Choate-Nielsen

E-mail: jpage@desnews.com