Elected officials from both parties, developers and environmentalists, business and community leaders and hundreds of Salt Lake County citizens have come together in support of the ballot proposals.
Gov. Jon Huntsman has endorsed Proposition 3 and the Opinion Question, as have all five members of Utah's congressional delegation. The vast majority of mayors in the two counties, who recognize the critical need to enhance our transportation infrastructure, are firmly behind the initiatives. Other supporters include the Sierra Club, as well as the party chairs of the Salt Lake County Republican Party and the Salt Lake County Democratic Party.
The Salt Lake and Provo/Orem chambers, which represent hundreds of Utah businesses, are backing the proposals. All of these groups rarely agree on anything, yet all of them are united in support of Proposition 3 and the Opinion Question.
That's because they recognize just how critical these initiatives are to Utah's future.
Utah's population increased by over 88,000 people just last year alone. That's like adding a new city the size of Draper and Riverton combined to the state. Current projections indicate that Utah will continue to grow at a similarly astonishing rate for the next three decades.
It's critical that we have a transportation infrastructure that is able to keep up. Right now, traffic congestion is increasing twice as fast as our population is.
With current funding, the Utah Transit Authority expects to complete four new TRAX lines and a regional FrontRunner commuter rail system by 2030 at the earliest, with many of these projects not completed until 2036 - three decades from now. Proposition 3 and the Opinion Question would accelerate all of these projects by at least 15 years, with some of them completed near the beginning of the next decade.
Even if you don't ride on the train, you would reap the benefits. Current TRAX ridership is the equivalent of a full lane of traffic on I-15 during peak hours. It's much easier to expand TRAX capacity than it is to add yet another lane onto the interstate, and ridership will continue to increase as TRAX expands. When these four lines are completed, over 70 percent of Salt Lake County residents will be within three miles of a TRAX station.
Critical road projects will also be accelerated. 25 percent of the revenue generated by Proposition 3 will go toward preserving the right of way for a critical north-south highway on the west side of the valley. Other road projects in Salt Lake and Utah counties will also be accelerated to accommodate the growing demands on Utah's transportation infrastructure.
The facts is that almost everyone agrees that these projects need to be done. The question is not "if" but "when." Postponing action will only make these problems increasingly intractable and more expensive to solve. The ballot proposals are an opportunity to act on behalf of generations of Utahns to come. And make no mistake - they're coming. But that may change if our transportation system isn't ready for them.
That's why so many community leaders are united in support of Proposition 3 and the Opinion Question. And that's why we're asking you to vote for them on Election Day.
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* JIM BENNETT a marketing consultant from Sandy, is the campaign manager for the Salt Lake Chamber's Vote for 3 campaign.
