The public has until May 30 to comment on a government plan that gives more details about a proposed Salt Lake County light-rail system.
The supplemental draft environmental impact statement is the latest in Utah Transit Authority's plans for a $210 million light-rail system that would connect Sandy with downtown Salt Lake City. UTA has studied proposals to build the line without a tax increase, but some UTA board members remain skeptical of the plan.A public hearing will be held Wednesday, May 4, from 3:30 to 8 p.m. at Murray High School. UTA is encouraging specific comments on all of the proposals in the plan.
The supplemental statement is an outgrowth of an earlier plan approved in 1990, according to Bill Barnes, UTA spokesman. That plan, which identified a preferred alternative, came after UTA studied 12 alternatives for a transit system. Approval of this plan will result in a finalized environmental impact statement and clear the way for final design work.
The preferred alternative proposes using the Union Pacific right of way through the valley. It also includes the expansion of I-15 and expanded bus service. Barnes said about 30 percent of the design work on the route has been completed.
The latest plan identifies three possible light-rail routes in downtown. It also more specifically identifies sites of stations on the light-rail line and proposes locations for a yard and shop. It also changes the end of the line in Sandy from 10600 South to 10000 South or 9000 South.
The downtown proposals include a routing on West Temple, Main Street, State Street and a Main and State streets couplet. The plans propose between four and eight stations in the downtown area. Stations are also planned at 3300 South, 3900 South, 6400 South, 7200 South, Center Street and 7800 South in Midvale, and a station at the end of the line in Sandy.
The plan proposes four sites for a light-rail yard and shop. They include sites near 5300 South and 5900 South in Murray and west of I-15; two sites near 7200 South and 700 West in Midvale; and another about 8400 South and 150 East in Sandy.
In the plan, UTA expects slightly over 14,000 passengers per day when the first phase of the line opens in 1999. By 2010, ridership is forecast to reach 23,000 per day. UTA officials are predicting even more ridership if Congress approves funding to begin the expansion of I-15. The light-rail system is expected to carry passengers while the freeway is torn up during construction.
Yearly operation and maintenance cost of a light-rail system is estimated to reach $5.8 million, Barnes said.