As world population increases, Utah has concerns of its own

SALT LAKE CITY -- The world celebrated it's seven- billionth person Monday.

Amid the festivities existed an undercurrent of fear as people questioned whether future generations would have access to enough food and clean water, shelter and opportunities for education. And in Utah, home to a fraction of the world's population, similar concerns apply.

A 2001 report estimated that Utah's population would reach 2,600,000 in 2020. By the time of the 2010 Census, however, it had surpassed that, reaching more than 2,763,000. Utah was the third-fastest growing state in the nation as of 2010, more than doubling in population since 1970.

The population growth rate is not set to slow down any time soon, according to Stephen Kroes, president of the Utah Foundation, a non-profit research foundation.

"Nothing has changed in terms of this trend in recent years, and it's not likely to change any time soon," he said.

Transportation, job growth and access to quality education are the three major issues Utah policymakers face in coming years, according to Kroes.

Transportation

Transportation officials realize the population is growing and are planning for the future, according to Tania Mashburn, a Utah Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

"Many of the department's recent projects, such as the Mountain View Corridor or I-15 CORE, have focused on increasing capacity because of the increased demands on roadways," Mashburn said.

The Mountain View Corridor will be a 15-mile segment of road with two lanes in each direction and is expected to be complete by Dec. 2012.

I-15 CORE, which will add two lanes in both directions from Lehi to Spanish Fork, is currently UDOT's largest project. The project is expected to be completed by Dec. 2012.

"There are a lot of areas that need additional transportation," she said. "Rapid population growth is a fact. We are doing what we can before it's too late so we don't get bogged down with traffic."

That includes working with the Utah Transit Authority while planning new roadways to make sure public transit options are left available.

Current UTA projects include implementing a Bus Rapid Transit line, extending TRAX in four different directions, and extending FrontRunner from Salt Lake City to Provo.

Public transit is just one part of the multi-modal transportation system Utah needs to deal with its growing population, according to UTA Spokesman Gerry Carpenter. Such a system also includes bike and pedestrian paths, highways and arterial roads.

"We are working with organizations like UDOT and local cities to develop a long-range plan to deal with future growth," Carpenter said.

Job Growth

Another of the state's long-term plans involves job creation.

"It's a question of creating enough jobs in this economy for all of the young people growing up and entering the workforce," said Kroes.

Utah residents averaged the youngest in the nation as of May 2011. More than 31 percent of the population is under 18 years old.

Despite the increasing population, the Governor's Office of Economic Development believes it can keep up with the demand for jobs: Utah is third in the nation for job creation.

"Utah added 34,400 jobs from Aug. 2010 to Aug. 2011 -- it's the second-fastest growing economy in the nation," said Director of Communications Mike Sullivan.

Sullivan believes the government's main focus has to be on recruiting businesses to the state and helping existing businesses grow.

"It is imperative that we recruit critical industries, such as finance and technology, with prospects for long term growth," Sullivan said. "These industries, then others, then small businesses grow around them and create even more jobs."

"We can keep up," Sullivan said. "The key is educating the population to be ready to take the jobs that are available in these industries."

Education

That is a main goal of the Utah State Board of Education, according to Deputy State Superintendent Martell Menlove.

"Adults with only a high school diploma are struggling," he said. "When they leave high school, they need to be equipped with some type of skill to enter the workforce immediately or after a small amount of training."

The biggest challenge the board faces is to continue funding a growing number of students without a large increase in funding, according to Menlove.

The state has seen an increase of about 12,000 students for the past two years, and expects the same through most of this decade.

"It's a steady increase that we expect to continue into the future," Menlove said. "And until the economy improves, their won't be money available to fund it."

Finding additional funding while stimulating job growth could be a challenge, according to Kroes. "If you raise taxes to fund education, it could hurt job growth," he said. "But if we don't focus on funding education, we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot in terms of developing a competent workforce."

"We have to find a balance between the two."

Finding that balance in a struggling economy is the challenge that awaits Utah's industries as they try to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive world.

"Every agency has to work together, as we have been," Sullivan said. "It's been successful, but we're working every day to make it better."

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