The train is finally leaving the depot, and the time has come for everyone to hop aboard.
Today's groundbreaking for the TRAX light-rail system is a welcome step. Even with the choice of a general contractor still unresolved, seeing the project under way is a welcome sight.Studies have repeatedly shown that light rail will have a positive impact on transportation within the congested Salt Lake Valley. Now that the system is a certainty, it behooves residents to lend their support.
Demonstrating patience during construction and giving it a try once it comes on line would be a good start.
Those who look at light rail objectively are apt to come to the same conclusion reached by Utah Transit Authority board member Richard Kuchinsky, a former foe of the system.
When Kuchinsky joined the UTA board last August, his mind was dead-set against construction of a light-rail system. His voting record reflects that fact. But he was not averse to gathering all the information he could - both pro and con - on the subject.
The more he learned, the more his emotionally based opposition dissipated, he now admits. He spent much time considering all of the arguments and poring over reports and articles on the subject.
Kuchinsky saw the light, so to speak, not in one blinding moment but over a period of prolonged and open-minded study. Others who have closely considered the facts have reached the same conclusion: The system will work; it will be used; and it will integrate nicely into the total Wasatch Front transportation picture, including the potential link with heavy rail running between Ogden and Provo
It also has the potential to become a main transportation link among the Salt Lake International Airport, downtown and the University of Utah.
A deciding factor in Kuchinsky's change of heart was a visit to Portland, where he observed a successful light-rail system in operation. As he noted, light-rail trains are quiet, and their horns are no louder than those in automobiles.
The system's affect on general traffic flow is not the concern it has been made out to be. An average light-rail train takes about 30 seconds to clear an intersection, approximately the time pedestrians now have to cross major intersections in the valley.
Light rail will work, and it will work well. It is past the point of debate and at the stage of support. The community should pull together to make TRAX successful. Further debate at this stage serves no useful purpose.