Commissioners sided with the Mayor's Office and a citizens' transportation board in bucking a Utah Transit Authority plan to turn the line off North Temple at 600 West. The agency had proposed building a new, rail-only viaduct there to cross freight- and commuter-rail tracks en route to the intermodal transit hub southwest of The Gateway district.
"It was the concerned citizens," Planning Commission member Tim Chambless explained after the vote. "We went there and looked for ourselves."
Many of those concerned citizens showed up Wednesday to complain that the proposed rail viaduct on 600 West would rise next to the new, densely populated Citifront Apartments. They also argued adding another span in the area of the broad North Temple street viaduct would further isolate a neighborhood that has worked over a decade to revitalize itself.
Others said forcing west-side commuters to transfer at the intermodal hub would have the unintended effect of putting hundreds of West High School students from the west side a block away from a homeless shelter every morning.
"This is not somewhere I want my child waiting on a bus or another train," Tiffany Sandberg said.
The commission did not stop with granting neighbors' wish to push the rails farther east before linking with the existing light rail on 400 West. It unanimously recommended tearing down and rebuilding the North Temple bridge when light rail goes in, beautifying what neighbors say is an eyesore and no longer needs to be so large now that some freight tracks have been diverted.
City planners warned that a complete rebuild of the bridge would add millions of dollars to the project, and that the existing span probably has 40 years of structural stability left. But the commission sided with neighbors who asked for beautification in addition to rail service.
If heeded by the City Council and built by UTA, the light rail alignment would include a stop atop the North Temple bridge, with an elevator to access FrontRunner commuter rail below. Advocates for routing the line to 400 West said it gives both west-siders and FrontRunner riders a quicker connection to downtown.
"It's brilliant," 600 West resident Tony Nissen beamed after the vote. "Public transportation is successful when it's accessible."
bloomis@sltrib.com
