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Richard Piatt Reporting A group of Utah business leaders are raising red flags, fearing a crisis is looming with Utah's booming population.
To pay for gridlock-preventing roads and mass transit, this group is asking Governor Huntsman to call a special session, with an eye on a voter approved tax increase.
If you think traffic is bad now, imagine Utah in the future. By 2030, it could be three times worse, according to estimates. Utah's business leaders call this a looming crisis.
Tom Warne/ Transportation Consultant: "Our needs are much greater than has been suggested. Our population is growing at two and a half times the national average."
Ex-UDOT Chief Tom Warne is one memeber of the 2015 Transportation Alliance---business and community leaders worried about what clogged roads will mean for commerce.
Like state officials, they're worried about a gap between what we need and what we can pay for, that totals 21-billion dollars. Highways, light rail extensions, commuter rail--all could be on the fast track if that money is available.
They're now pressuring Governor Huntsman to take steps to make that happen.
Scott Anderson/ Zions Bank: "We call on the governor to convene a special session of the legislature to discuss this bold initiative."
A special session would ask the Legislature to allow counties to put a sales tax increase to a vote in November.
If voters did, in fact approve it, the increase would amount to an additional half cent in Salt Lake and Utah Counties.
The money it generates could allow commuter rail to Provo, the TRAX extensions south and west, and roads and busses in Utah, Davis and Weber counties---all by 2015 instead of 2030.
Clearly, this group would prefer a sales tax hike to the property tax hike proposed in Salt Lake County. Developer Kem Gardner explains why:
Kem Gardner/ Developer: "Transportation is commerce. Sales tax is a tax on commerce. It's an appropriate tax."
But the governor and legislature may not agree that sales tax is the way to pay for a transportation upgrade. Even so, this is one issue that's not going away.
Today Governor Huntsman's office issued a statement, saying, "There are no plans to call a special session at this time."
Next week, the Salt Lake County council will vote whether to let voters decide on a property tax increase to pay for expedited TRAX expansion.
