Articles...

Image via WikipediaHere is a article from yesterday's Deseret News covering what has been talked about since Front Runner opened and then an article from today's Salt Lake Tribune about art along the TRAX tracks.

It looks like everyone in planning Front Runner underestimated how popular the Layton Station could be. Truth be told, the way the Federal Transit Administration's policies work rail ridership always is understated while ridership on BRT lines usually gets overstated showing their prefeence for the latter.

Once again part of the problem can be laid directly to the sprawl style development that has taken place in the Layton area. It is very difficult to service the area with conventional bus routes. Eventually the area should be served by the same Call A Ride type vans that we have discussed for areas around the TRAX lines.

Of course the short term solution is to build addition parking but land will have to bought to serve that purpose.

Eventually the Layton Station would be another excellent location for a transit oriented development. Not only does it have Front Runner, it is served by the 470 and as I stated should eventually be served by Call A Ride vans. Integrate the old train station so the restaurant located there can be the focal point of the development plus additional parking. People would then have the choice to live near the station, or commute to the station plus have a host of entertainment options. It is located right next to the historic Main Street area that could be a great drawing card for the area.

The second article which is in today's tribune talks about a grant for artwork along the TRAX lines especially the north-south line. About the only negative of the line is all the graffiti that is along the corridor so replacing it with artwork would be a major improvement. However, the article says that the landowners agree to maintain it for five years so that needs to be enforced because some of the older murals are getting tagged frequently.