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Letter: Holladay needs safe roads before it gets more housing

(Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Canada Geese roam the acres of the old Cottonwood Mall site near 4800 S. Highland Drive in Holladay on Tuesday March 13, 2018.

In response to Mark Jensen’s letter (“Holladay needs more housing,” July 13), I agree that we need smart development currently and for our progeny. However, if you think suburban renewal is difficult, wait until we have to do urban renewal.

Make sure the homes that will be built will stand the test of time — not just look good for the first 30 years. I asked at the Holladay City Hall if Ivory was going to be held to a high standard in construction and the answer was that it had been talked about but nothing in writing.

I live just outside Holladay and travel Highland Drive every day. Without a center lane or left turn lanes, it will be a nightmare. I would imagine many of the 900 new families who will inhabit the area in some form of abode will use Highland Drive to get to Interstate 215 going east or west. Without left turn lanes, it is a huge road rage looking for a place to happen.

I have looked and looked and I can’t see a way, even in the future, for the option of putting in that lane. The intersection where Highland meets Van Winkle is already a conundrum for many to navigate. Going north on Highland Drive right after that intersection, there is a new driveway that comes out of a private unit development that catches many by surprise. So, in the interest of packing some form of homes on every piece of land, safe roads are getting to be a thing of the past.

Find another plan.

Judy Miller, Murray

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