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SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, remembers sifting through the different state paintings he could choose from to decorate his new office after he was elected Utah House Speaker in November.
One particular option caught his eye. It depicted a man riding in a covered wagon, navigating it through a rocky terrain on the difficult pioneer journey to modern-day Utah. He thought about the challenges that pioneers faced on their journey to Utah and the challenges that existed after they settled in the Salt Lake Valley.
He then thought about what they did to handle those issues — building canals and roads on a grid system that's still used today.
"We get the benefit today from their hard work," he said. "The decisions that they made back then had generational impacts."
While many of those challenges aren't issues anymore, especially as travel has become faster and more comfortable, the painting also left Schultz thinking about the new challenges on the horizon.
Utah's population is larger than ever, and it's projected to gain another 2 million residents over the next four decades. That opens up new housing, transportation, and infrastructure challenges just to accommodate all the new residents who will most likely seek housing in areas running out of space. Advancements in technology may also change transportation altogether, which also requires rigorous planning.
That's why Schultz and other Utah leaders say they look at the past to see what lessons can help them address the state's current and future transportation and infrastructure needs so that future generations can benefit from the work conducted now.
Lessons from the past
Utah leaders and other experts referred to the balance between the old and new, spanning from Brigham Young to the futuristic 1960s cartoon "The Jetsons," as they spoke about the future of infrastructure during an event hosted by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah on Monday.
The event brought together multiple panel discussions to talk about the past and future of key subjects in the state, such as infrastructure needs tied to Utah's growth.
"There is wisdom in the past," said Gov. Spencer Cox.
It all ties back to the pioneers. Young and other pioneer leaders started planning out the Salt Lake Valley a few days after arriving in July 1847, building on a grid system that Joseph Smith had designed. It essentially set up the infrastructure needed to manage the initial growth of the valley.
This shaped many of the Wasatch Front communities, and many other Utah cities adopted their own grid pattern. But additional infrastructure investments were made as Utah became one of the fastest-growing states in the country, transforming into a mid-sized state.
Utah's population jumped from 1.72 million in 1990 to 3.27 million in 2020, an increase of about 90% in just 30 years. It's now estimated to be above 3.4 million, per the U.S. Census Bureau and Gardner Policy Institute — two organizations with different ways of calculating projected population.
Utah leaders adjusted by investing in infrastructure projects, said former Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt, who served as governor from January 1993 to November 2003. He and other leaders who participated in the event said they learned a handful of valuable lessons over the past few decades:
- Planning for the future helps maintain a quality of life along with growth. Procrastination creates "costly consequences."
- Adopting innovation saves time and money, and can provide solutions to "difficult infrastructure problems."
- Growth, planning for the Olympics, and public discontent are "back pressures" that force leaders to act.
- Good communication helps residents deal with inconveniences and hardships tied to major infrastructure projects.
- Principled leadership "makes all the difference" in dealing with complex and controversial issues.
This is relevant because history often repeats itself.
"Virtually everything we worked on so hard during (my tenure as governor) is happening again," Leavitt said, pointing to the 2034 Winter Olympics, new "growth pressures" and new technology.
Preparing for 'The Jetsons'
Utah's growth isn't expected to stop anytime soon, either. Gardner Policy Institute projects that Utah's growth rate will slow down over the next few decades, but it estimates that Utah's population will be close to 5.5 million by 2060, based on current and projected trends.
The lessons learned about planning are being applied again today, as a result.
Utah leaders note that new growth will require a lot of new housing options and types to balance out rising home costs, as well as investments to handle environmental concerns. It's also going to require a suite of transportation options because the old way of handling traffic congestion hasn't solved the problem.
While new roads have been built and another I-15 expansion is planned in Salt Lake and Davis counties, Utah has also started to look at more transit and active transportation projects, said Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation.
Utah Transit Authority officials are working on more transit options within the Wasatch Front while Cox announced plans for a new trail network in 2022 that's already received some state funding.
"We can't address all of our needs with new roads or widened roads; it has to be truly multimodal," Braceras said.
The future may look more like "The Jetsons," too. Electric and driverless vehicles, high-speed rail and new personal air transportation options are all either here or on the horizon. That's going to require similar grid-like planning right now so that it's sorted out as those become more prevalent options, especially when it comes to charging stations.
But getting there may yield even more challenges.
The biggest hurdle could be funding, especially as gas tax revenue — the primary method to fund transportation projects — begins to shrivel as people look for alternatives to gas-powered cars. Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, said the state is looking at different ways to pay for key transportation improvements.
Although electric vehicles are just a fraction of the vehicles on Utah's roadway, Utah created a road user fee program for electric vehicles to address some of the project funds lost from gas taxes. Harper said the program will be "expanded out" over the next year.
He adds that he believes Utah is in a "good position," because of this and other tax adjustments that can help pay for transportation and infrastructure needs as the industry finds itself at a crossroads.
That's the type of thinking that Utah leaders need right now, Leavitt said. He advised that the best way to handle change — such as growth and transportation technology — is to embrace it early and figure out ways to handle it, so future generations can benefit from decisions made today.
"We can fight it and die; we can accept it and have a chance; or you can lead it and prosper," he said. "I believe ... Utah will continue to lead and prosper."
