This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The groundwork for returning passenger rail to Sugar House is getting under way this spring.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, who stood on the abandoned Sugar House rail line during his campaign and pledged to hurry the project, said he's looking for ways to fund the city's share of a study before he presents his budget to the City Council next month. The Utah Transit Authority expects that study to take eight months and cost $300,000, split three ways among the city, South Salt Lake and the transit agency.
Then there's the question of where to get nearly $40 million to build the streetcar system linking to TRAX light rail at 2100 South.
Becker expects that the local governments may have to chip in a larger share than they've traditionally put toward transit if they want construction to start before currently planned TRAX extensions are done in 2015.
"We'll certainly be looking for federal money, but we'll also be looking for ways to fund this project to the extent necessary. I'm assuming there will be a fair amount of local money," Becker said.
UTA conducted a preliminary study over the winter and picked streetcars - not light rail or higher-riding historic trolleys - as the best option.
Streetcars ride on rails but move more slowly than TRAX, maxing out at 25 mph, and make more neighborhood stops. The study predicted a streetcar line would cost $37 million, slightly more than a TRAX extension, and would serve 2,300 daily riders.
Streetcars make sense for Sugar House because of its mix of neighborhood services, homes and planned residential clusters, the mayor said. It's perfect for a more-casual ride.
"This will be the first time - going back to the future, almost - that we will have a streetcar in Utah since we abandoned streetcars in the '40s and '50s," Becker said.
Some in the neighborhood say they're counting on improved access, but want to make sure it's done right. At SugarHouse Barbeque on 700 East, owner Bill Smithers said he worries about losing the parking that currently extends across the old tracks.
But he hopes customers will get used to riding the rails to dinner.
"I'm all for it," he said. "It's something we have to think about for the future because gas is getting expensive."
Still, he wants to meet with city officials to see whether they can do anything to offset the inconvenience, at least during construction. "You come here on a Friday lunch and there's cars everywhere," he said. "We pack the place."
Sugar House resident Melissa Lichtenstein said she's eager to see Utah's transit web grow, though she's not sure whether this thread will lure her out of her car for trips to downtown Salt Lake City.
She used to ride the bus downtown, but ever since TRAX opened in 1999 the Sugar House bus routes have suffered, she said.
Downtown errands that would take 45 minutes by car can't take three hours by transit, she said, "and for me that's been the reality."
"I'm excited to see our mass transit expanding, and I'm hoping as it expands it becomes more accessible and user-friendly," Lichtenstein said.