News Nugget

10 Years Later, Salt Lake City’s Public Transport System Still Ahead of the Curve

By Courtney Lowery, 12-01-09

	Photo courtesy of UTA.

Today’s news nugget comes from the Salt Lake Tribune which details 10 years of the TRAX commuter rail and how it will continue to shape the communities along the Wasatch Front.

María Villaseñor’s story starts at the very beginning, when TRAX was a big gamble, and a big controversy. Two managers at the Utah Transport Authority even recall days when protesters shouted at them, some carrying signs that read: “Light rail kills children.” Today, more than a million people ride TRAX each month.

There’s much to be learned from TRAX, including what not to do in the development of a light rail system, as the story points out. But, what’s really interesting about the tale of TRAX is how it’s shaping development along the Wasatch Front.

From Envision Utah’s planning director Gabe Epperson: “The suburbs are trying to serve residents wanting to get access. A lot of communities are changing city plans around existing or future TRAX stops. They’ve changed their zoning and created transit-oriented development zones around their stops.”

Read the whole story here.

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