Utah Transit Authority engineers scrambled over the weekend to redesign the proposed University TRAX light-rail extension in hopes of convincing the Salt Lake City Council to resurrect the project.
There were no formal meetings with council members scheduled Monday, but "it's a fluid situation," said Ken Connaughton, spokesman for Mayor Deedee Corradini.The council voted 4-3 Nov. 4 to end negotiations with UTA over extending light rail from Main Street to the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium, a decision that immediately caused UTA to go into panic mode.
UTA General Manager John Inglish was in Washington, D.C., Friday, trying to lessen any influence the council's vote may have had on the Federal Transit Administration. UTA needs an FTA agreement to fund 80 percent of the $105 million it will cost to build the 2.5-mile line.
Inglish must obtain that commitment around Jan. 1 if the line is to be built before the 2002 Winter Games. And, of course, he needs the City Council to change its mind.
UTA's engineering staff met early Monday to formalize its new approach to University TRAX. Inglish and his staff then planned to meet with the Utah Department of Transportation, the University of Utah and the city in an effort to revive the project.
"We're prepared to make some very significant compromises," Inglish said. "We will address each of the issues that we understand the council is concerned about."
The most significant compromise is restoration of parking along the residential areas of 500 South, from 1100 East to 1500 East, UTA director of transit development Mike Allegra said Monday. That will be made possible by automobiles driving on light-rail tracks when light-rail cars aren't using them.
He also said UTA, not the city, will take responsibility for operating costs after a 10-year funding agreement.
"It clearly becomes our responsibility after that time," he said.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council, the area's metropolitan planning organization, has recognized a need for a quarter-cent increase in UTA's sales tax revenue, or the equivalent, if the light-rail and bus systems are to be expanded. But a public referendum has not been scheduled or widely discussed at this point.
Council members Keith Christensen, Tom Rogan, Deeda Seed and Joanne Milner objected to the project for the following reasons: elimination of parking on 400 and 500 South, construction impact on businesses and residences along the route, how operating costs would be paid for after the state shares that responsibility for the first 10 years, the uncertainties of the design-build process, the fact that most of the riders would come from outside the city, and the hurried nature of construction for a city already rushed to prepare for the Winter Games.
FTA officials won't say exactly where they stand on UTA's request for a full-funding grant agreement or an amendment to the existing agreement for the north-south line to include University TRAX.
But Bruce Frame, the agency's national spokesman in Washington, said Congress must be notified 60 days before such agreements take effect. Even if the FTA granted approval Monday, the 60-day period would take UTA well into January.
What's more, Inglish concedes that if the FTA were to follow its normal guidelines for approving full-funding grant agreements, it would not likely make a decision on UTA's request until June of next year.
Indications from the FTA, however, are positive, Allegra said. FTA representatives were in town Wednesday, and UTA submitted 95 percent of the paperwork required for the funding agreement. The rest should be turned in by the middle of next week.
"It's reasonable to think they can process it in a short amount of time because of all the work we've already done," Allegra said. "It's not like we're asking them to short-circuit any process. We're just asking them to expedite some paperwork."
Allegra said the 60-day notice period is a maximum and that Congress could sign off on the full-funding grant agreement sooner.
If the 60-day period does become an obstacle, Allegra said UTA could give its contractor a "limited notice to proceed" and have it perform only a specified amount of work that UTA could afford to pay for should the federal funding fall through.
Congressman Merrill Cook, R-Utah, said he's "frustrated" with the seeming inability of Utah decisionmakers to present a united front to Congress regarding $600 million in program money set aside for Utah mass transit. He was speaking generally but noted the City Council decision was "another example of mixed messaging."