County may alter transit priorities
But Salt Lake County officials say the list, which has surfaced since state lawmakers changed the funding criteria that determine the priority of proposed projects, doesn't reflect what voters expected when they approved the tax hike in November.
County mayors and the Salt Lake County Council will meet today to review the list and then possibly switch the order of projects and approve criteria to select projects to be funded by the tax hike.
The list has been proposed by the Wasatch Front Regional Council and puts commuter rail, the West Valley TRAX extension and the Mid-Jordan TRAX line in the top 10 with seven other road projects.
"I do not like or agree with this list," Councilman Joe Hatch said. "I think it's an attempt to have Salt Lake County taxpayers fund state roads, which is not what we voted for."
Voters in November approved the quarter-cent tax increase by a margin of 64 percent to 36 percent. Although the ballot language didn't specifically say what type of projects the money should fund, several opinion polls showed Salt Lake County voters wanted the money to go to transit.
The Mountain View Corridor, which is proposed to run 44 miles from the northwestern part of Salt Lake County into Utah County, ranks fourth on the list. Other projects include several road improvement projects on the southern end of the Salt Lake Valley.
Although two TRAX lines are within the top 10, two others fell behind: the Salt Lake City International Airport line ranks 11th, while the Draper TRAX line ranks 26th.
The reaction by mayors to the proposed priority list is mixed.
As a result of changes by lawmakers, "Some of the rail lines did drop down a little, but not as much as I expected them to," West Valley Mayor Dennis Nordfelt said Monday.
"My immediate response is that this is a list we can work with."
The Draper City Council in November unanimously approved the TRAX line, which has raised controversy because it curves through low-density neighborhoods. It will run on the old Union Pacific Railroad tracks, which were purchased as a right-of-way by the Utah Transit Authority in 1993.
Draper Mayor Darrell Smith said he is gauging his reaction to Draper's low ranking by the discussion at Monday's Salt Lake County Council of Governments meeting.
"Obviously, we're disappointed, being that close to the bottom," Smith said. "It's changed dramatically from where I thought we would be."
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