UTA sets open houses for commuter rail input

The Utah Transit Authority likes to call it "community rail."

It's actually known as commuter rail, but a public input process that UTA is starting next week sheds a different light on a project that won't deliver its first train ride until about 2007.

"Ultimately, they are the ones who are going to ride it," UTA commuter rail manager Steven Meyer said. "If we come up with a system that meets the public's needs, we feel like they'll use it."

The input process will kick off Tuesday, Nov. 19. Three public open houses, each from 4 to 7 p.m., will take place at separate locations:

• Nov. 19 — Davis County Library, north branch, 562 S. 1000 East, Clearfield.

• Nov. 20 — Union Pacific Depot, The Gateway, 450 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City.

• Nov. 21 — Ogden Union Station, Browning Theater, 2501 Wall Ave., Ogden.

Before a single track is laid, UTA wants public comment and questions. Where will the stations be located? How close will homes be to the rail line?

"The options are pretty much wide open," UTA spokesman Kris McBride said.

Meetings with the public are expected to continue through next year as UTA works its way through the environmental impact process. Construction will begin about 2005.

At this point only the location of the commuter rail corridor and stations are known. The stations will be built in Salt Lake City, West Bountiful, Farmington, Layton, Clearfield, Roy, Ogden and Weber County, but their exact locations are still unclear.

Those stops represent the first commuter-rail phase, expected to cost $350 million to $450 million. About $120 million of that amount is the cost to acquire the rights of way. Federal funds, the half-cent total sales tax increase — one-quarter cent in 1974 and one-quarter cent in 2000 — and help from local governments will bring commuter rail on line.

"We don't expect cities to raise taxes," Meyer said. Contributions from municipalities could include space for parking, rights of way for UTA's use or other enhancements.

Starting in 2004, UTA will begin an outreach campaign to educate people on commuter rail. For example, about 70 percent of the people UTA polled recently said they have a general knowledge of what commuter rail is. But most don't know when it will be coming, where it will go or even how fast the trains run — average speeds are between 60 mph and 80 mph.

UTA says its goal is to expand commuter services with commuter rail while holding fast to its current commuter bus services.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com