Members of the Utah Transportation Authority Board of Trustees and staff met with community members today to gather feedback on the system and brainstorm ideas for the future. With new rail projects nearing completion, UTA is gathering public input to develop a multi-year plan for expanding and enhancing services.
“We want to make sure that we’re hearing from individuals in our community,” said board member Charles Henderson. “You, as stakeholders, have an opportunity to help us shape where we are going to go.”
This is the third in a series of panels UTA has held to gather feedback on issues like safety, sustainability and transit-oriented development. In April, UTA met with local elected officials, and in June, a panel was held for business leaders within the community.
Today’s panel included local religious and community leaders, members of grassroots transportation organizations and a University of Utah student. Panelists commended UTA’s recent rail expansion, which has added more than 70 miles in rail service in less than seven years.
“I think that UTA has done an incredible job building the backbone, and that is going to make us a transit metropolis for decades to come,” said Roger Borgenicht, co-chair of Utahns for Better Transportation, an organization that promotes balanced transportation choices along the Wasatch Front.
Panelists also praised UTA’s recent investments in electronic and mobile fare payment technology and efforts to expand public transit to business centers and university students. Leo Masic, an urban planning student at the University of Utah, said that making transit accessible for college students creates a “culture of transit ridership” that will continue throughout students’ lives.
“You have an upcoming generation, and they are more apt to ride transit,” Masic said.
Many of the panelists asked for expanded bus routes and more frequent service. Rev. Dr. France A. Davis of the Calvary Baptist Church said he hopes to see bus routes that better connect communities on the east and west sides of the valley, and encouraged UTA to work with businesses to create bus routes that correspond with shift changes and schedules.
Erin Mendenhall, interim executive director of Breathe Utah, said she hopes to see additions to holiday service.
“Expanded hours, 365, 24-7, would be a beautiful goal for UTA,” Mendenhall said.
UTA did reduce some services, particularly bus, as a result of the economic recession. As the economy recovers and the FrontLines 2015 rail expansion concludes, UTA is focused on expanding bus and rail service. UTA’s Board of Trustees recently added $4 million to this year’s budget to help preserve and expand service. Additional service enhancements will be added on the August 18 change day.
Panelists also expressed a desire for more affordable public transit, especially for low-income residents and high school students. Bill Tibbetts, associate director of the non-profit thrift store and food pantry organization Crossroads Urban Center, said that more than 72 percent of his clients currently use public transportation. Many more, he said, would use it on a regular basis if fares were reduced.
Tibbetts also encouraged UTA executives to increase ridership in coming years by lowering fares.
“I think you’ve got an amazing staff and you can reach that goal,” Tibbetts said.
Participants encouraged UTA to work with the Utah Department of Transportation and city planners to create streets that facilitate bus use and allow people to safely walk or bike to public transit.
“If we don