This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Department of Air Quality must find a way to meet minimal air-quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency for airborne PM2.5 particulates. And that is not an easy task when the department's scientists and engineers answer to a state Legislature that is hostile to federal regulation.
The DAQ has organized strategy work groups to help develop an implementation plan that must be filed by year's end. These citizen work groups have identified potential strategies to lower toxic emissions, but state regulators show no appetite to pursue any plans that require political will, or that the Legislature might find inconvenient.
Proven strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled have been proposed, in addition to the obvious ones targeting major industrial sources of pollution. The single-occupancy vehicle is a major contributor to bad air quality, with each auto spewing tons of pollutants every year.
One example of a successful strategy has been implemented by Boulder, Colo., a high-altitude Western city facing similar air-quality challenges. Allied with the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, the city adopted strategies encouraging the use of public transit.
Rather than provide employees with inexpensive parking, Boulder has embraced convenient, inexpensive public transit. Downtown employers with more than 20 employees agreed to purchase discounted annual transit passes for at least 60 percent of their employees. Since waiting time is the primary objection to using public transit, bus service is offered every 10 minutes on key commuter corridors, eliminating the need for bus schedules. Boulder now has the highest percentage of residents in the West using alternative modes of transportation to commute downtown.
Locally, the University of Utah persuaded more students and staff to use public transit by offering a discounted Utah Transit Authority "U-Pass." They are increasingly receptive. Parking on campus is difficult because of the limited number of spaces, and it is expensive relative to the cost of a transit pass. Additional campus parking requires the construction of parking structures at a cost of $20,000 to $25,000 per parking space.
There is an opportunity to do more because an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 part-time students and campus employees are not eligible for the "U-Passes." The present UTA/university arrangement only includes full-time students and employees. The discounted UTA passes should be made available on a cost pass-through basis to the rest of the campus population, encouraging more people to use transit and further reducing emissions.
Strategies are available to improve air quality, but is there the political will to implement them?
Chad Mullins has served as a volunteer on the Utah Division of Air Quality's Salt Lake County Air Quality PM2.5 Reduction Strategies Workgroup since last July. He also is chair of the Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee (http://www.bicycle.slco.org).