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John Daley ReportingRelief appears to be on the way for the beleaguered residents of one Salt Lake neighborhood coping for years with loud and disruptive railroad traffic.
For years there's been a big fight over how to get rid of railroad tracks at 900 South, running through a neighborhood out to Redwood Road. Late today it appeared the many sides in this complicated equation have worked it out.
Trains on tracks at 900 South have long rumbled through the neighborhood as residents grumbled. The problem? The so-called Grant Tower intersection west of the Gateway. An "S" curve there forced trains to slow down, causing backups that spilled onto 900 South. The solution was a roughly 50-million dollar conundrum involving the city, the state, the feds and Union Pacific.
Today it was virtual love-fest as the governor, lawmakers, the city and Union Pacific announced a deal.
Ralph Becker, (D) House Minority Leader: "I kind of think of it as I came to learn of it as the like I-80 I-15 interchange, before we got it fixed. It was a mess, it was horrible congestion approaching it."
This deal was born out of another, the Legacy Highway agreement. House leadership needed Democratic votes to pass that. In return, democrats are now getting help with the rail line, in the form of a 3.5 million dollar commitment from the state.
Rep. Greg Curtis, (R) House Speaker: "I made a commitment with Representative Becker at that time, 'Hey, I'll look for a solution, a solution to address this.'"
Also today, the Senate transportation committee okayed a bill which would enable police to stop any drivers for failing to wear a safety belt.
Rolayne Fairclough, AAA of Utah: "208 of the fatalities last year were not using seat belts or restraints properly or at all. And we know if we could increase usage rates, we could have saved a lot of those lives."
And members of Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs showed off a clever educational campaign, featuring lawmaker trading cards designed to help fend off a bill which would ban those clubs.
Catie Howell-Dinger, Cottonwood High Senior: "Basically we just want everyone to see where the legislators stand and just see how they feel about different issues."
Also today, House lawmakers passed a bill requiring teenagers seeking an abortion to get parental consent. That bill now goes on to the Senate.
