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SALT LAKE CITY — The TRAX Airport Line has been on the drawing board for years, but it will start rolling with passengers in about a year.
"This has been the traditional gateway to this community," said Frank Gray, Salt Lake City Community and Economic Development director, in an interview Wednesday.
"Back in the ‘40s and the ‘50s, (when) you came to Salt Lake, you drove down this street. There was no other way in here," Gray said.
With TRAX hitting six stops on the six-mile line, the city has high expectations for that corridor again. Gray pointed out there is a lot of land ready for re-investment.
"All along the whole corridor, there's just lots of this kind of land," he said.
Each new TRAX line has attracted development that transformed neighborhoods. The new line will likely carry 14,000 passengers a day by 2030.
"This really is one of the most anticipated new rail projects to come along in a long time," said UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.
The hard work that's already gone into the line is easy to see — from the finished crossings to the rails already in the bed. But as far as the business development goes, that's not going to happen overnight.
"Until you actually see the train go down the tracks, you don't believe that it's really going to happen," Gray said.
Then it happens, over five to 15 years.
"More and more young families are seeing the expense of automobile ownership and the advantages of public transportation," Gray said.
For business operators, like Long Lam, the trains can't roll soon enough. Wednesday, his nail salon remained pretty empty.
- Date/Time: March 29, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Location: The Grand Hall at Utah Fair Park
- Details: Attendees will explore the ways this new, multi-use corridor may contribute to the future development of North Temple.
"We're supposed to be busy, full and crowded, that's what we expected," he said.
Lam estimates construction cut his businesses in half, and other store managers told KSL News the same thing. They hope the surge of business doesn't take too long.
The city knows the transformation can take time, and the first re-investment will be businesses that serve the areas around the stations.
"The main thing you see, initially, is the re-investment in the adjoining communities, and the stabilization of those communities," Gray said.
City leaders know business and housing development will start to come together, and they still want input from the public and builders. Mayor Ralph Becker plans a workshop and conference March 29 for the public and developers to talk about North Temple's future.
