The Salt Lake City Council's reaction to its newest transportation deal was odd. Apparently, the council would like all the benefits of a shiny new city gateway with none of the cost. As most taxpayers know, free lunches belong in fairy tales.
The deal, agreed to reluctantly by the Council late last week, allows the city to consolidate its many railroad tracks into one main line through the west side of downtown. That will allow the Utah Department of Transportation to shorten freeway ramps into the city. More importantly, this will open a dilapidated warehouse and railroad district to redevelopment.With easy auto access from the freeway, this district now will have the opportunity to blossom just as other areas near current freeway access have in recent years (Pierpont Avenue and other successful new housing and commercial projects near the Delta Center come to mind). City officials already are negotiating with developers who want a hand in this new extension of downtown, which eventually could provide a robust and inviting view of the city to freeway travelers, unlike the drab and decaying view they now get.
Some members of the City Council are upset because UDOT agreed to provide only $8.7 million of the $11.7 million cost of consolidating the tracks. This despite the state saving roughly $18 million on its freeway reconstruction by shortening the ramps.
But their anger flies in the face of every redevelopment argument ever postulated. A little money spent to facilitate a larger project is a sound investment. In the long run, the city stands to gain greatly in property taxes and sales taxes because of the new development. So what's a $3 million investment today?
A better question might be, why should taxpayers statewide pay all the costs to remove the tracks when Salt Lake City is the primary beneficiary?
The council's misplaced anger aside, the agreement is good for the city. And it wouldn't have happened without Mayor Deedee Corradini, who saw the potential and began negotiating with the state earlier this year.
The next big decision will involve where to place an inter-modal hub, which will act as a transfer point among commuter rail, light rail and bus systems. City officials are considering a site at 600 West for this center. They would be wise to instead choose the old Union Pacific railroad depot in the heart of the new downtown gateway.
Although a potential developer of nearby land prefers the hub go elsewhere, the Union Pacific building offers a touch of old-world railroad charm and sits ideally close to the central business district. Were it chosen as a hub, the Wasatch Front's new integrated mass-transit system would stand a much better chance of being relevant to commuters.
As with the overall gateway plan, smart decisions made today stand a better chance of paying dividends later.