Foothill Study Recommends More Express Buses, Bus Lanes
Jan 05, 2009 by Jeff Robinson
(KCPW News) An extensive report on the Foothill Drive corridor in Salt Lake City recommends that express bus service be expanded, and suggests creating a dedicated lane for buses and carpools. The Wasatch Front Regional Council commissioned the report and held public meetings as it was being prepared. Deputy Director Doug Hattery says midday bus service, in particular, should be expanded for students at the University of Utah."Right now, you get buses coming from Sandy in the morning going to the University, and then in the afternoon they go back," said Hattery. "A lot of students just go in the morning, then work in the afternoon, and we felt like if they could ride the bus in in the morning and then have a midday bus that would take them back to where they came from, they'd be more willing to ride the bus rather than driving."
Hattery says light rail, however, would not get enough riders on Foothill to make it a viable option.
To better manage vehicle traffic, the study suggests that reversible lanes would make it easier for commuters during peak travel times.
"Where you have a directional split in traffic where in the morning you have a lot of people, 70 percent of the traffic going northbound, and in the afternoon, 70 percent going southbound, you can look at taking one or two of the lanes in the middle and making them reversible, so that in the morning they go north, and in the afternoon they can go south," said Hattery.
The study does not recommend adding bike lanes to Foothill, but instead improving existing lanes on Wasatch Drive. Hattery will present the study to the Salt Lake City Council tomorrow. Check it out online.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2009 KCPW
1. Kelly said:
People would be much more likely to travel on public transportation if UTA would provide shelters at the bus stops for days like the ones we've been seeing this winter. It would also help to have copies of the schedules at bus stops.
2. Dave said:
UTA has been trimming routes and stops all along the Foothill corridor. All the stops on Wasatch are gone and the few remaining stops on Foothill are few and far between. The real key will be making the bus an attractive alternative to driving, that means getting buses to the U ahead of the cars, as this plan suggests. However, I oppose "improving" Wasatch between the U and I-80. It is a residential road and Indian Hills Elementary is just half a block off that route. Children are always along Wasatch and sending commuters down that road is a tragedy waiting to happen. Residents of those neighborhoods already deal with commuters trying to bypass Foothill; they regularly run stop signs and there have been several accidents at intersections.
Instead of encouraging more commuters to use their cars, give buses a way to beat the traffic. Every time a road is "improved" it simply encourages more auto traffic, which leads to more roads. If the bus is faster and more comfortable than driving, people will use it. Many transit authorities around the nation are now using large coaches equipped with WiFi for express routes, a "business class" bus that can use dedicated lanes and whisk you to within a block of your work or school for about the same cost as driving but faster and more comfortable without the need for parking passes.