I am a homeowner in Rose Park who works and spends money in both Salt Lake City and Davis County. The proposed UDOT expansion of I-15 is misguided, ineffective, racist, environmentally disastrous and fiscally irresponsible.
This is reminiscent of Legacy Parkway, a highway we were promised was very much needed but to this day is still underutilized. By simply making Legacy and I-215 easier to access, pressure will be relieved off I-15, especially with semi-trucks now allowed there. This point is best driven home by the employee I spoke with at the Rose Park open house. When I asked him how Legacy was underutilized and why they don’t funnel traffic over there, he replied that once this new project lost its usefulness, people would probably use that. That right there is an admittance of how short lived the benefit of this project would actually be. Making us taxpayers’ 1.6 billion dollar investment moot. This project will cause undue congestion during years of construction for only a short-lived benefit.
With pollution being the number one threat to quality of life in Utah, there is no clear evidence of any collaboration between UDOT and UTA here, and not enough infrastructure encouraging Frontrunner and Trax use. All agencies must share a common long-term vision and collaborate closely. Piecemeal and short sighted “fixes” make for bad cities.
We also know that the interstate system was a perfect example of systematic racism in action, cutting through and destroying minority and poor neighborhoods. This would be pulling those scabs off and pouring salt in; further damaging west side neighborhoods for the assumed need of wealthier, whiter suburbs up north.
We have until Dec. 16 to comment on UDOT’s website and we also need to contact our local leaders arguing against this pointless yet destructive endeavor.
Justice Morath, Salt Lake City