FrontRunner lot in Layton is too small

LAYTON — The biggest city in Davis County has the smallest parking lot for the UTA FrontRunner train station.

The lot, which has 380 spaces, is usually filled to capacity each day. Consequently, overflow ends up on Main Street — or in area businesses' parking lots.

The Utah Transit Authority has built all it can for the time being.

"We've developed all the land we own in the area," said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware, senior media relations specialist for UTA.

UTA research determined the lot was big enough for the forecasted ridership, she said. But the analysis fell short.

"More people are riding than we thought," Bohnsack-Ware said.

Layton City Manager Alex Jensen said city officials knew the Layton station would be busy, but they didn't realize how busy.

Riders who can't find a parking place are either parking where they can nearby, or driving north to Clearfield or south to Farmington to park-and-ride lots there.

Though UTA has no short-term plans to expand the Layton lot, Bohnsack-Ware said UTA may eventually talk to property owners to possibly buy more land to expand the lot. "UTA plans to have additional parking on the west side of the tracks," Jensen said, adding that more parking is imperative, otherwise, people will become dissatisfied and won't ride the train.

There are no plans, however, for park-and-ride lots in the Fort Lane shopping center, despite previous news reports, he said.

Because parking is at a premium by the Layton train station, overflow spills into surrounding businesses' lots.

"We are working hard with businesses in the area," Bohnsack-Ware said, to install "No Parking" signs. Layton Police Sgt. Mark Chatlin said parking on the street is legal for commuters. Officers have increased patrols to compensate for the increased use of the area.

And it's not just Layton police patrolling. The UTA transit police also has jurisdiction in the area. Typically, any concentration of vehicles in an area is an inviting smorgasbord to vandals and thieves. So far, there have been few problems.

"I haven't heard of any ill effects of the lot," Chatlin said.

---

E-mail: lwilde@desnews.com