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BOUNTIFUL -- It's not a TRAX line. It's a streetcar system. There are some differences. Utah Transit Authority officials say streetcars are less expensive to build and they would have less of an impact on the city.
UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter says, "It's a lighter vehicle that runs in traffic rather than in its own right of way."
Carpenter says the line would connect from the Arena Station in Salt Lake City, through Highway 89 in North Salt Lake and Main Street in Bountiful and Centerville, and would end just south of Center Street in Centerville. There would be a bus connector to Farmington. The streetcars would move out of traffic for each stop.
"There would be about 15 stops. The transit time between Centerville and downtown Salt Lake would be about 25 to 30 minutes," Carpenter explains.
UTA is just in the study phase with this project now. It doesn't have the funding, and even if it came, any possible construction wouldn't happen until years from now. Still, some Bountiful residents wonder if the streetcars would fit with the rest of the city.
Resident Heather Jones says, "I still don't feel it would be that great of a fit, even though it's different than a TRAX line."
Some business owners along Main Street question if the streetcars are even necessary.
Apple Frame Gallery owner Thomas Howell says, "The bus system that's in place has been able to meet the needs [of residents] as far as I can tell. I don't see the buses packed to the hilt."
Howell wonders how long construction would last if the streetcars were put in place. He hopes it wouldn't last as long as the TRAX line construction in Salt Lake City because he thinks that would be bad for business.
"I know a lot of small businesses that had been around for a long time down in Salt Lake are out of business," he says. "You get someone new who comes in, but you lose the businesses that have been around for several decades."
UTA is taking public comments on the streetcars until the end of March. Click here for that.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
