No, it's more than that. It's a necessity.

The county's population and economy are booming. As new homes pop up like mushrooms and more people drive more cars more miles to more places, some roads are gridlocked and others are getting more congested by the day. A quarter-cent sales tax increase would pump tens of millions of new dollars every year into commuter rail, TRAX and road projects to complete them by 2015 rather than 2030.

That's why people all across Salt Lake County should vote for Prop. 3. If you understand that the land for the Mountain View Corridor must be purchased now (at least 25 percent of the tax increase would go to that purpose), and if you agree that new TRAX lines and FrontRunner commuter rail will provide an alternative to auto congestion and reduce air pollution, it's an easy call.

Mountain View and Front-Runner commuter rail make this a regional transportation question. If Salt Lake County voters approve Prop. 3, and Utah County voters approve a quarter-cent sales tax increase there, Utahns will be well on their way to building a commuter rail system that will span the Wasatch Front from Weber County to Provo within a decade.

Prop. 3 is necessary to fund the Salt Lake County leg of ÂFrontRunner.

Utah County voters should support the tax increase there because 87 percent of those revenues will go to FrontRunner to provide a commuter rail alternative to I-15 when the freeway is rebuilt through Utah County beginning in 2011.

Don't be confused by the political ruckus that surrounds Proposition 3. Yes, it's wrong - and poor public policy - that Salt Lake County voters will not know when they go to the polls which of four TRAX lines will or will not be built first. In fact, the ballot question doesn't say anything specific about any project, but instead speaks vaguely about “corridor preservation, congestion mitigation” and expanding “capacity for regionally significant transportation facilities.”

The Legislature must shoulder the blame for this, but it is vital that voters keep their eyes on the prize. They should know that the Salt Lake County Council of Governments will prioritize the projects according to criteria the Legisalture has outlined, and the Salt Lake County Council will actually vote whether to impose the tax.

The mayors on the COG support the TRAX lines and commuter rail. Some members of the County Council will change with the election, but support for rail is strong there as well. These officials all know that the people want these projects. Elected offials will pay a political price if they renege.

The coalition of political, business and environmental leaders supporting Prop. 3 claims that voters can pretty much count on commuter rail and the Mid-Jordan and West Valley TRAX lines getting top priority. The Airport and Draper lines are more on the bubble, but the coalition says that probably means they could be completed in 2013 or 2014, compared to 2010 and 2012 for the other lines.

Of course, economic conditions could change, tax revenues could decline with a recession, costs could inflate and projects might be delayed accordingly.

But the bottom line remains this: Rail transit and road projects will have more funding, and Utahns will be able to use them sooner by a decade or more, if they pass this tax increase.

And that's a good deal all around.

Rail transit and road projects will have more funding, and Utahns will be able to use them sooner, if they pass this tax increase.