Draper/Bluffdale battle over FrontRunner stop isn't over yet

People in Draper who think a FrontRunner commuter rail station will definitely end up in the city may need to keep lobbying Utah Transit Authority decision-makers.

Draper has long wanted the stop, which city officials believe will be a boon to their growing community and a service to their residents, said Maridene Hancock, city spokeswoman.

"The council has been out there, they've toured the site and hope they (UTA) chooses us," Hancock said.

Draper has offered a development agreement to UTA, and the land has been zoned for the stop, she said.

But that request, which has developed into a sort of hopeful expectation among several City Council members, may be dashed by a neighboring mayor who's not about to give up.

On Wednesday, Bluffdale Mayor Claudia Anderson asked the UTA Board of Directors to consider a site at 14600 South, just west of the Union Pacific tracks, on land the UTA already owns.

"We're still interested," Anderson said. "We're going to lose a lot of revenue" without the station.

Bluffdale City Council members, however, are not all on board. Last year, they voted 3-2 against a quasi-separate issue that directly disallowed such a stop to be built. That vote, though, has since been trumped by state lawmakers who assured UTA could choose where to build a stop — no matter a council's vote.

"They can absolutely still build here if they want," said Mark Reid, Buffdale city manager. "Nothing is stopping them."

Anderson said she has received hundreds of calls and e-mails from Bluffdale residents asking for the train to put a stop in their city.

The transportation authority plans to connect Salt Lake and Utah counties with commuter rail by 2015. UTA officials want a stop somewhere between Thanksgiving Point and Sandy. They're considering four sites — 12800 South, 13500 South, 14000 South and 14600 South — but say the stop will not open until sometime after the rails roll through because they have to do research to justify enough riders for a stop. Installing more than one stop on heavy rail within the area is not feasible due to the time it would take to decelerate and accelerate again.

UTA is expected to make a decision in the next month or so about the Draper-Bluffdale stop, said UTA spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware.