This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

For the first time ever, some TRAX customers are being charged for parking to catch a train — but are being charged half the amount that Utah Transit Authority officials first proposed.

The UTA has started charging $1 a day or $15 for the current month to park in a garage at the Jordan Valley TRAX station at 3400 W. 8600 South. UTA earlier proposed to charge $2 a day or $35 a month.

But violators may not be paying anything for a short time. The UTA board's Stakeholder Committee was told on Wednesday that UTA police currently are issuing only warning tickets to people who do not pay at kiosks.

UTA attorneys asked the committee to endorse and send to the full board changes in its ordinances to make it clearer that UTA has the authority to collect the parking fees and to fine people who do not pay them. They said the UTA currently plans to issue real parking tickets once that new ordinance receives final approval.

UTA General Manager Michael Allegra said UTA is charging what he calls "a very nominal fee" there because the garage cost more to build than the surface parking lots at most stations, and offers extra protection from the weather in covered parking.

He said UTA currently has no plans to charge for parking at other TRAX or FrontRunner parking lots.

Payment for parking in the garage will be required Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parking will be free on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Payment must be made at kiosks located within the garage on the lower level and will be enforced by the agency's transit police.

The kiosks do not accept cash, only credit cards. They accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.