Residents on 1100 South aren't happy with the Utah Transit Authority and want city officials to enforce conditional use permit requirements that could halt bus traffic through their neighborhood.
UTA officials recently agreed to a temporary plan to route bus traffic through University Mall property (which runs behind the residences) before 9:30 a.m. and after 9:30 p.m. In between, some 300 buses daily wind through the otherwise quiet, residential neighborhood."We are at our wit's end," said Ron Mansfield, as he addressed the City Council Tuesday in what he described as yet another attempt to get some help from the city.
"It's serious. It's got to be taken care of. Some people are almost being put in the grave over this."
Mansfield said residents on 1100 South are enduring an intolerable amount of noise and traffic that is out of character with the quiet neighborhood and in violation of city ordinances and zoning. The buses started using 1100 South after they were asked to vacate a bus stop location in front of United Savings Bank at 750 E. 1200 South.
Phyllis Petersen, whose home fronts on 1100 South, said it is impossible to conduct a conversation in her living room when the buses are running.
Mansfield said residents have already lived with the residue of diesel smoke and grease for 11 years as the buses ran behind their homes through the mall property.
"Now things have changed dramatically," he said. "There's no other condition like this in the state of Utah where 300 buses circle a residential area."
Mayor Stella Welsh said the city has been trying to resolve the problems without going to court or trying to revoke the conditional permit issued to the bus agency a decade ago. Buses had previously been loading and unloading at a terminal on the northwest end of the mall and driving inner-mall roads. Mall management requested the UTA relocate three months ago.
City Attorney Paul Johnson said a revocation process would take months and would "be almost a trial" for the city vs. the UTA in a public hearing. "The more pertinent issue is are they in violation?" said Johnson.
Mansfield contends that since the UTA buses are threatening public health, aesthetics and have altered the path of the bus runs, they have violated the permit.
Marilyn Mansfield said the neighbors don't want the permit revoked, just complied with. "I can't go out and break the law for 90 days," she said.
Welsh said the late-night, early morning rerouting back into the mall property is a 90-day solution agreed to by University Mall management only because the situation was so bad on the residents. She said a meeting is set between UTA officials, mall management and city officials very soon to determine what happens next. Because the matter is complex and there are no easy answers, "we've worked so hard to get some other resolution."
She said the bus drivers should be adhering to the route change, but some may not have been informed before the week began.
UTA officials have repeatedly said they are actively pursuing a place for a permanent site and do not intend to disrupt the neighborhoods. They have also pointed out that public thoroughfares provide for bus traffic.