Deseret News | Reader comments: Mountain View Corridor speeding up

Reader comments
Mountain View Corridor speeding up

Techie Tree | 1:51 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

Hmmmm...the big developers are gifting $60 to 80 million dollars worth of land with the string attached that the MVC be built in the next five years....by any chance are these developers depending on MVC for their development to happen? The evidence appears to say so. In essence, these developers are land speculators who bought land a bargain basement prices and now they want the tax-paying public to foot the bill for a mega highway that will drive up the value of their land. What Utah needs is not more out-of-control Los Angleles-like sprawl, but a smart blueprint for sustainable growth. We must consider the larger picture of Utah's growth and create a vision of a future that is positive for all, not just the land developers and those elected officials on their payroll. Uncontrolled growth is cancerous growth.

Mishki Supai | 1:50 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

Building another freeway to alleviate traffic congestion is like buying bigger pants to deal with obesity....

5600 W. TRAX line | 5:16 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

The TRAX line should NOT be run down the middle of 5600 West. If the entire light rail line were street running, it would be slow (top speed 35 to 40 mph with delays at traffic signals) and hazardous like the current University line (cars and trains do not mix well).

Instead the new TRAX line should run down the power line corridor that is 2 blocks west of 5600 West. There would be less interaction between the trains and cars (and crossing gates instead of traffic lights would further increase safety), stations would not be in the middle of busy streets (where they encourage j-walking), trains could go 65 MPH (making them more competetive with cars), and open land would be more readily available for park and ride lots would.

UTA would have a higher price as far as land goes, but 5600 West would not have to be torn up with utilites relocated and an extensive rebuild of the road.

TRAX yes! BUT in its own corridor!!!!!!

Comments continue below

Modern Transport | 8:22 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

The environmental extremists want transit first. The main reasons for that are that it squanders a lot of money taken from car users and transit can be made to seem to accomplish something only if there is no capable, competing freeway.

The environmental impact statements for these rail projects show them accomplishing next to nothing. The ESR for West Valley TRAX shows it will reduce regional VMT by 0.00%, page 4-19.

Wasatch Front Regional Council did a study for the Airport-University line which showed it would cost over 20% more to build a light rail line after building a bus rapid transit line first.

UTA goes through these gymnastics to build rails knowing that they have thoroughly conned decision-makers, The Downtown Alliance, Envision Utah, the press, and local mayors. They can get all the money they want for do-nothing trains by going back for more taxes.

The focus should be to integrate a good bus rapid transit line into the design of the Mountainview freeway. It should run in better designed, multiple HOV laneS. New technologies will make it great.

There are some great new technologies to make HOV running Bus Rapid TRansit work better. Google "automated bus testing ".

Modern Transport | 9:09 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

KL owns HALF the undeveloped land in SL County!

The estimated value of their planned developments on the West Side is $28 billion!

Considering that people living in their projects will someday dump a million trips a day onto County and State roads, they ought to fork over at least $200 million.

Since KL/RioTinto is the world's biggest earth mover, they also should be doing all the earth work for all the west side freeways. It would cost them peanuts, but save us tens of millions of dollars.

They also should pay at least 1/3rd of the cost of MidJordan TRAX; that's $150 million in the short run.

They are going to make billions here! They should pay for the impacts of their projects.

Too bad our brilliant legislators don't bother to do enough homework before they negotiate with the big boys like Rio Tinto. Poor Utah!

WONDERFUL | 10:00 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

This is the best news of the year! Not only are corporations cooperating in donating land (50% of the land the state needs was donated) but they're putting in a transit line from the very beginning!
It's 10:00 and I'm the first to post a comment?! This board should be abuzz with praise and encouragement from the environmentalists and those living on the West side of the Valley and Northern Utah Valley. This means an East/West line AND a North/South freeway. Who could ask for more?!
THIS IS GREAT FOLKS-- Let your leaders know they're doing good things when they do good.
THANKS to the developers and state leaders who are catching the vision!

air pollution | 11:02 a.m. Feb. 23, 2008

I didn't know that roads caused air pollution. I thought it was the cars that were the culprit. I guess we'd rather be stuck sitting on one crammed road with our exhaust pumping rather than move speedily along two different roads. Hum...

I'm all for those that can use mass transit but it's hard to sell a nearly 1.5 hour mass transit option over a 1/2 hour commute. Maybe the idea in opposing roads like this is to make the limited roads crammed to a stop so the 1/2 hour commute turns into 1.5 hours and mass transit becomes a more attractive option...

Will Pearson | 1:02 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

Considering that most of the Oquirrh mountains between here and Toelle could sustain extensive suburban development, aligning a new west valley, north-south freeway would make more sense along 7200 west, especially considering the massive new Sunrise City already started.

Most don't know about it, but there is already a four-wheeler road up Butterfield canyon, going over to Toelle, and what an exciting and scenic drive it is! Let's get that right-of-way, as well, while KL develpement is in its current good mood for giving away land. Such a route could attract Federal funds, also.

Beware of short-sightedness.

MTM | 1:51 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

We need this, why do the tree-huggers always have to complain about anything good for people?

jmdspk | 2:58 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

Bus Rapid Transit does not cost less than light rail if you are comparing apples to apples. The only reason most BRT systems are cost less is because they are not incorporating everything that light rail does. Besides one light rail train with 4 cars can handle 800 people with one operator, to do the same with buses you would need 6 operators. Also Light Rail cost less per passenger to operate than buses.

Chuckles55 | 4:34 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

MTM, why must short-sighted slash-and-burn developers always have to blame those interested in the environment of slowing down progress, when all we really want is some thought about what all of this will do to the environment that our granchildren will inherit?

I am not opposed to growth. However, I am opposed to fat cats who can grease the right palms to get what they want, no matter the cost to the rest of us in what we are losing.

lowonoil | 5:56 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

We are going to wake up someday far too late and realize what a dumb idea it was to continue to spend billions and billions to build permanent infrastructure requiring ever increasing amounts of a dwindling finite resource.
The Mountain View Corridor will never be built. Five years from now we will not have enough fuel at our disposal to use the traffic capacity we have today.

"We should take note that our major oil companies, including Chevron and ExxonMobil, are beginning to state publicly that we may be reaching peak oil." - Orrin Hatch

Another UTA Lie | 6:34 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

UTA bought a lot of used rail c ars so they could run more of them so believers like jmdspk would never have to get stuffed..into a TRAX car. TRAX cars seldom carry even half that number.

Now the wfrc is stating in the latest LRP that TAX cars only have an official capacity of 65 passengers so all the space hungry believers can get a seat.

The original EIS for TRAX stated that the capacity of each car was 64 seated plus 95 standing

jmdspk | 7:01 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

Re: another UTA lie or should I just call you Drew? TRAX works, trains run with lots of passengers even in off peak times. They carry 1/3 of all passengers that ride UTA except TRAX is only two lines and the UTA bus system covers 6 counties (oh and before you start whining about the numbers that is adjusted numbers).
TRAX works, it gives people the freedom of choice. Choice that 70 years of highway only policy tried to take away.

air pollution is right | 7:10 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

ï¿½Air pollutionï¿½ is correct about reasons the road-haters have for building rails first. Their goal is to slow roads down by forcing more congestion upon the car-users. These forked-tongue-folk sometimes pitch the congestion-is-good line. But, rails do so little de-congesting, that we will never notice it. UDOT hasnï¿½t.

A case in point about slowing roads is the way the Sierra Klub-thugs forced UDOT to lower Legacy speed to 55-mph. Guess what speed was calculated for Commuter rail? 53-57mph.

jmdspk says BRT does not cost less than light rail. He never read the report comparing the two.

View the websites about automated buses and how it cuts the number of operators, to less than one per bus, by electronically linking and automating buses into ï¿½trainsï¿½.

A lot of UTA deceptions have popped up:

For instance:

There never were the 58,000 TRAX riders UTA claimed to get the billion$ in new taxes.

When operating AND capital costs are used to compute the cost per passenger mile, bus is cheaper than TRAX.

UTA is a net polluter: Buses create so much NOx, which is the critical pollutant, that TRAX gains still leave UTAï¿½s total at 200 tons excess NOx.

HerrimanResident | 9:32 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

MVC will run literally through my backyard, destroying a beautiful view and lowering my home value substantially. While I am only one homeowner, my opinion is constantly ignored.

I hope UTA gets sued and has to fight for the next 10 years before it can get started. In fact, I hope the project is never completed.

Re: Herriman Resident | 10:16 p.m. Feb. 23, 2008

Sorry that growth is inevitable. I am sure that before I-215 was built, plenty of people had nice quiet neighborhoods that were altered. Same with bangerter highway. But what is the alternative? There is no path that does not effect just a few. I know you'd rather it took another path, but that path leads right behind someone else's backyard. There is no solution that pleases everyone, so you suffer a little so the rest of us can have transportation options. Thanks.

Unreasonable Extremists | 12:11 a.m. Feb. 24, 2008

Mark Lieleson says he is concerned with balance. That is garbage. There are three different mass transit projects in various stages of development along the Mountain View Corridor, and he is still speaking against the freeway. The Mid-Jordan Trax line, commuter rail, and the 5600 West bus rapid transit route will all intersect and/or run parallel to this freeway. Lieleson says he wants transit to be built first. Well, the first two will be built first. Lieleson is nothing but an extremist who needs to quit driving his sport utility vehicle on our freeways while he tells the rest of us not to drive on freeways.

The Wasatch Front will continue to grow to support all of the children Utahns are having. These kids have to have someplace to live as they become adults. The key is to develop quality suburbs with adequate transportation. The south end of the valley is developing freeways, commuter rail, Trax, and bus rapid transit. Sounds like a good combination of transportation alternatives, if you are a reasonable person. Which, unfortunately, most environmentalists do not appear to be. That is too bad. If they were reasonable, I would support them.

jmdspk | 9:37 a.m. Feb. 24, 2008

To: Air pollution is right, actually I have studied the differences between the cost of light rail and BRT and light rail wins if you are comparing apples to apples. However, show me a BRT system that compares equally.
How about the Billion dollar Harbor Freeway busway and HOV lanes that carry 3000 bus passengers per day while the nearby light rail line carries 78,000 people per day that replaced two bus lines that barely carried 5,000 combined.
Comparing capital cost Michael or William or Drew. Lets see even at 20,000 riders for the North-South line at the low end of the spectrum. Please name bus route that is carrying that much? Cannot find one since ALL north-south buses in the Salt Lake County used to carry that many including routes such as the old 43 and others that were never coordinated with TRAX. Oh and by the way my numbers showing TRAX and bus ridership only shows 28,000 riders.

Franz | 8:34 a.m. Feb. 25, 2008

Are these the same people who last week were complaining about developers building homes without building the roads to get to those homes? Well, now they are funding those roads. We can ignore the west side, but the development is coming. Personally, I would prefer my west side neighborhood to stay in the same rural state it was when I moved there, but it isn't going to happen.

Here's a solution... | 12:40 a.m. March 31, 2008

If people want to halt the developing of another mass transit highway, we should just stick to I-15, I-215 and I-80 and hope no one else moves to Salt Lake from out of town. If people want more freeway access, we could raise the speed limits of side roads so people could use them and drive faster.

Chick | 11:30 a.m. April 14, 2008

we need to add more trax in utah to help the air get better

LadyM | 12:28 a.m. March 10, 2009

I actually live right in the path of the new corridor on 5800 West (of course no one told us of these plans when we bought the house, but that's a different story), and really all I want right now is for them to buy my house so I don't have to wait anymore! With these road plans in place, we're completely stuck - we can't sell, we can't really upgrade without our work turning into rubble, we're just stuck. I'm glad they finally got the funding, because yes we really need a road out there and I'm ready to be able to move on with life rather than waiting and wondering if this is the last year in my house or not. I can't wait for it to start.

Girly | 11:28 p.m. June 30, 2009

I also live in the path of MVC on 5800 west. Have anybody received any notices from UDOT about relocation/buying your home because it's in the middle?

I wonder how long they are going to wait to let people know that they will need you to move.

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