Rail stops to sport city names

Pleasant View, Ogden, Roy, Clearfield, Layton, Farmington and Woods Cross.

It's just a list of cities, but those are the official names of the FrontRunner commuter rail stops currently being built from Weber County through Davis County and into Salt Lake City.

The Utah Transit Authority's board of trustees selected those names according to UTA policy, which directs that stops not be named after people or businesses.

And the names should make it easy for people to navigate the system, the policy states.

UTA's board also selected name for TRAX stops in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake Central Station is the name of the intermodal hub, where TRAX comes together with FrontRunner and UTA's bus lines.

Andrea Packer, UTA spokeswoman, said the TRAX line is currently being extended from the EnergySolutions Arena south and west toward 200 South and 600 West, where Salt Lake Central Station is located.

Another stop will be named for the Clark Planetarium, which board members don't consider a traditional business.

But the board opted not to name the TRAX stop on Rio Grande Street, located about 200 South and 500 West.

Members of Salt Lake City's Greek community proposed the name Old Greektown for that stop because of the area's Greek heritage.

"I think this would be a wonderful opportunity to to honor our early pioneers," said Constantine Skedros, a historian for the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake.

Salt Lake City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton spoke to the board and asked that the board hold off on naming that stop because other ethnic groups in Salt Lake City, like Italians and Hispanics, would like that stop to reflect their heritage, as well.

The board plans to consider proposals during its March 14 meeting.

That stop isn't being built during this phase of construction, said UTA general manager John Inglish.

The 44-mile Weber County-to-Salt Lake City commuter rail line, according to UTA's Web site, is expected to open in spring 2008. Each station will have an 850-foot platform.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com