At issue: TRAX currently dead ends in Sandy at 10000 South, and the Utah Transit Authority is looking to extend it through this city of 37,000 nestled in Salt Lake Valley's southeast corner.

On one side: A group of residents, organized under Citizens for Responsible Transportation (CRT), wants the train to cruise alongside the city's dense commercial corridor near State Street and Interstate 15.

They fear a train running by their homes in the east portion of the city would heighten noise and vibrations, increase crime rates, close streets, hinder scenic views, pose safety concerns for children, hurt Draper's parks and trails, and decrease property values. CRT says UTA could extend TRAX along State Street and use two miles less track.

On the other side: UTA and Draper officials favor stringing the extension along an existing UTA-owned right of way that loops eastward through Draper's historic, more rural areas. UTA bought that route from Union Pacific in 1993, and the mostly abandoned tracks still carve out a corridor for a new type of train.

Summer Pugh, a CRT leader, owns a home atop a 1-acre parcel along the area's rural-turned-suburban 1300 East. Her land doesn't abut the proposed extension, but her neighbor's 5-acre horse property sits right against the spot where UTA wants to tear up the existing Union Pacific track and replace it with electric wires and double-stacked tracks.

"It makes no sense to bring light rail this far east," Pugh said, pointing to a spot near a "no motorized vehicles" sign where a high-tech TRAX train could soon rush by pioneer homes and cut into heavily used equestrian and bike trails.

"TRAX will change the nature and feel of the community on a permanent basis. The residents should have the right to voice an opinion," Pugh said, alluding to the Utah Supreme Court case that will determine whether residents can cast ballots.

But for the laundry list of about 1,700 residents who signed petitions opposing the planned route, getting that wish granted could be a rough ride.

They already lost a 3rd District Court battle aimed at giving Draper residents a vote on the issue, and a former UTA spokesman has already said the city can't stop the agency from building on its own right of way to the detriment of a broader project.

But some Draper residents say TRAX makes sense along UTA's right of way, and that CRT would not win even if the issue did go to a vote.

Larry Jensen points to already built transit-oriented developments that rely on the long-planned light-rail extension with four Draper park-and-ride stops. And there are some areas where developers have already built bridges for the trains to cruise over the traffic below.

"The costs of putting this near State Street or the west side would be astronomical," said Jensen, calling the anti-right-of-way movement "the epitome of the not-in-my-backyard movement."

"This is not a Draper issue, this is a regional issue. I don't think a group of local taxpayers has the right to scuttle a regional transportation plan that's been in the works for many years, just so it doesn't hurt their backyards."

UTA has expressed similar views in the past, saying it reserves the right to build on its own right of way for the good of the entire region. A 2006 study showed that the right of way, at $248 million, would cost $30 million less than the State Street route.

UTA's study also said a route along State Street would yield fewer riders, increase congestion and prohibit access to adjacent properties for auto users, though it would entail slightly higher ongoing maintenance costs.

Draper's Jennifer Schaerer, who uses TRAX to get to downtown, wonders what good a line looping through Draper's east end would do for people in the south valley's west side, like Bluffdale, Riverton and Herriman.

And, with plans for a commuter-rail station in the area, she calls the TRAX extension redundant.

However, stressed Schaerer, this issue is not a question of whether mass transit should be built.

"It's unfortunate that the debate over location of the line has turned what should be a healthy discussion about the best solution into a pro-TRAX and anti-TRAX issue," she said.

sgehrke@sltrib.com

Timeline of UTA-Draper drama

* Dec. 1992: Draper City Council recommends UTA purchase the Union Pacific rail to preserve a transportation corridor.

* Jan. 1996: UTA and Draper sign an agreement to construct the Porter Rockwell Trail within the UTA right of way. An evaluation determines the trail could remain with a future light-rail system.

* Dec. 2000: South Salt Lake County Transit Corridors analysis recommends a light-rail corridor in the UTA-owned right of way from 10000 South to 14600 South.

* Dec. 2001: Wasatch Front Regional Council's long-range transportation plan update shows an extension of the existing light-rail line along the UTA-owned right of way from 10000 South to 14600 South.

* Feb. 2004: UTA, five counties and 36 cities (including Draper), sign an interlocal agreement establishing use within UTA rights of way through each jurisdiction.

* Oct. 2006: Draper's transit alternatives study recommends a light-rail extension from 10000 South to 14600 South along UTA's right of way.

* Nov. 2006: Salt Lake County voters approve a quarter-of-a-cent sales-tax increase to fund transportation projects.

* Jan. 2007: Citizens for Responsible Transportation (CRT) submit a petition to force a referendum vote on the proposed TRAX alignment at UTA's right of way. Draper later informs CRT they did not gather enough signatures, but CRT files suit saying the county inappropriately eliminated some signatures.

* April 2007: 3rd District Judge Leon Dever rejects CRT's bid to overturn the planned TRAX route along UTA's right of way, saying a city resolution could not be challenged because it was an administrative, not a legislative, decision.

* Aug. 2007: The Utah Supreme Court determines it will hear a CRT appeal.

* Oct. 2007: UTA begins an Environmental Impact Statement necessary to acquire federal funding.

* Nov. 2007: Draper elects three new City Council members, all of whom favored extending TRAX along UTA's right of way during the campaign.

* May 6, 2008: Utah Supreme Court will hold a hearing to determine whether voters can cast ballot on the issue in a referendum vote.