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RESOLUTION NO. 33 of 2015
A Resolution Adopting a Locally Preferred Alternative for Utah Transit Authority to Extend Transit Options within the Davis-Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study Corridor
WHEREAS, the Utah Transit Authority (“UTA”) is a public transit district and authorized under Utah law to construct, own, operate and maintain mass transit systems; and
WHEREAS, Salt Lake City, North Salt Lake City, Bountiful City, Davis County, and the Wasatch Front Regional Council (“WFRC”) together with UTA performed a study and an alternatives analysis (“Alternatives Analysis”) to evaluate transit alternatives in south Davis County and north Salt Lake County, specifically from Salt Lake City’s central business district through North Salt Lake City, Bountiful City, and Woods Cross City to the Woods Cross FrontRunner commuter rail station (the “Davis – Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study Corridor”); and
WHEREAS, during the Alternatives Analysis, Bountiful City, North Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, and Davis County (collectively the “City/County Sponsors”), together with community committees, agreed upon a list of goals to determine the proper public transportation alternative to operate within the Davis – Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study Corridor; and
WHEREAS, the goals include: (1) increase mobility, connectivity, and travel choices; (2) support local and regional land use initiatives; (3) promote economic development; and (4) improve environmental quality; and
WHEREAS, UTA proposes to expand bus rapid transit to include, among other things, an extension of bus rapid transit through the Davis – Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study Corridor; and
WHEREAS, UTA proposes to include in the Davis – Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study project a revision of the background local bus network to provide more east/west service that connects to existing and future bus rapid transit, and
WHEREAS, bus rapid transit within the Davis – Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study Corridor would substantially benefit the residents of the City/County Sponsors by increasing access to bus rapid transit to more residents and job sites; and
WHEREAS, operation of bus rapid transit in the Davis – Salt Lake Community Connector Transit Study Corridor will reduce reliance on the private automobile, improve air quality, reduce the growth of vehicle miles traveled, and support the objectives of the WFRC’s Long Range Transportation Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City/County Sponsors desire to promote transit supportive land use within and around the corridor and encourage the use of transit for a greater number of mass-transit riders; and
WHEREAS, the City/County Sponsors understand that more specific mitigation measures related to specific impacts will be reviewed, evaluated, and addressed during subsequent environmental, design and engineering phases of the project; and
WHEREAS, the City/County Sponsors find that their communities’ long term economic well being and viability would be negatively affected by increased congestion and decreased mobility; and
WHEREAS, the City/County Sponsors find that this proposed project best meets the needs of the City/County Sponsors as a whole, and is in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare of the City/County Sponsors,
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Salt Lake City Council as follows:
1. The City Council hereby endorses and approves the proposed construction of bus rapid transit along 400 West in Salt Lake City, along US 89 in Salt Lake City, North Salt Lake City, and Bountiful City, and Main Street to 500 South in Bountiful City as the Locally Preferred Alternative.
2. The Salt Lake City Council hereby authorizes City staff to work with UTA to proceed with and complete the preparation of all additional documentation and take all necessary actions to implement the Locally Preferred Alternative.
Passed by the City Council of Salt Lake City, Utah, this 6th day of October, 2015.