Draper TRAX Article

This article was printed in the December 2006 Draper Paper.

Also see here and here.

By Bill Colbert
Draper City Council

After listening to extensive public comment and reviewing extensive documentation, the Draper City Council unanimously approved a resolution concurring with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Draper Transportation Alternatives Study finding that the future TRAX line should be constructed along the existing UTA-owned right of way (ROW) through Draper. The goal of the UTA Draper Transportation Alternatives Study was to identify a Locally Preferred Alternative that will be studied in much more detail in the future. The transportation alternative found most viable by the study was light rail transit (TRAX) on the UTA-owned right-of-way, also referred to as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).

Historically, the rail line on the existing UTA-owned ROW was originally constructed during 1871-1872 by the Utah Southern Railroad. By March 30, 1872 the Utah Southern reached the Point of the Mountain. Brigham Young was listed as the railroad's president. In June 1875, financial control of the railroad was turned over to the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad.

From 1936 to 1993, UP operated the existing ROW as part of its "Provo Subdivision" rail line. Long-term residents may recall the long trains of iron ore from Wyoming being transported through the city. From the south, trains of coil and plate steel from Geneva traveled north towards Salt Lake City. In the 1990's, UP moved the trains on the Provo Subdivision to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad tracks between Salt Lake City and American Fork. As a result, UP no longer needed the rail line between Salt Lake City and Mount (at the Point of the Mountain).

In December 1992, the Draper City Council adopted a resolution recommending UTA purchase the Union Pacific Company's Provo Subdivision rail line (on the existing ROW) to preserve the transportation corridor. On March 31, 1993, Union Pacific sold a portion of its right-of-way between Salt Lake City and Provo to the Utah Transit Authority as part of its planned operation of light rail along the Wasatch Front.

Since 1993, Draper City has repeatedly taken actions to support the UTA-owned ROW and facilitate future construction of light rail along this corridor. These actions include the costly construction of four-grade separated bridges and closure of an at-grade crossing at 13200.

Some residents in our community are adamantly opposed to the existing ROW for a future TRAX extension and they have initiated a referendum to overturn the council resolution. Not surprisingly, many of these residents own homes along or near the existing ROW and propose to relocate the ROW on an alignment along State Street and Minuteman Road. These residents believe operating light rail near their homes will diminish property values, result in significant traffic delays, endanger their children's safety, increase noise & vibration, increase crime and destroy their quality of life.

The City Council has the responsibility to facilitate viable transportation and transit planning to serve the long-term needs of our community. After reviewing the UTA study findings, the impact to existing residential and commercial property owners on the State Street alignment is simply untenable. The State Street alignment would require condemnation of properties and the demolition of people's homes. The State Street alignment would raise greater safety issues, due to the many more points of conflict with vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Further, the State Street alignment would require the costly construction of additional bridges near each freeway interchange along I-15. Access to existing and future businesses would be negatively impacted with significant consequences. Finally, UTA would have to get Sandy City to concur with the alignment change, acknowledging there would be similar impacts to their residents and businesses.

TRAX primarily serves residents commuting between their homes, work and events. Retail businesses are not a primary destination of TRAX passengers. The existing ROW will best serve the largest segment of current and future Draper residents, employees and visitors.

Construction on the segment between Sandy and the Intermountain Farmers Association (IFA) facility in the Town Center may begin within a few years. Even with the passage of Salt Lake County Proposition #3 that will increase the county sales tax to accelerate future transportation projects, extending TRAX south of IFA is part of long range planning and may take up to 20 years to come to fruition. Construction of the Commuter Rail line between Provo and Salt Lake City, hopefully with a station near the Bangerter Highway, adjacent to the existing UP rail line on the west side of town, will likely be accelerated. However, the priority and schedule of county-wide transit and road projects will ultimately be determined by the Salt Lake County Council of Governments (COG) with guidance from the state legislature.

With the initial study now complete, UTA will likely proceed with a more detailed environmental study of the existing ROW. Draper residents will continue to have the opportunity to participate in future study sessions and public meetings to discuss the impact of TRAX on our community.