2/1/2021 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD
Minutes of the February 1, 2021 Meeting
Electronically present from the Transportation Advisory Board were Benjamin
LaRiviere, Courtney Reeser, Dave Alderman, Ellen Reddick, Greg Sanchez, Jennifer
Diederich, Jon Larsen, Kerry Doane, Myron Willson, Paul Schulte, and Suzanne
Stensaas.
Absent from the Transportation Advisory Board were Daniel Mendoza, David Parrott,
Jim Espeland, Marjorie Rasmussen, Hugh Van Wagenen, and Reid Ewing.
Also present were Amy Lyons, Jeff Gulden, Russell Weeks, Brent Crowther and Becka
Roolf.
The meeting was held electronically and was called to order at 4:04 p.m. by Courtney
Reeser.
Welcome and Introduction of Guests — Courtney read the anchor statement and
welcomed everyone. Brent Crowther from Kimley-Horn introduced himself.
Public Comment—There was no public comment.
Motion: Myron Willson moved to approve the minutes of the December 7, 2020
meeting. Dave Alderman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: Ellen Reddick moved to approve the minutes of the January 11, 2021 joint
TAB/BAC meeting. Kerry Doane seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
Report Out
TAB Members
Ellen said there was a full-blown study on Foothill 10 years ago which produced many
recommendations but so far there have been no improvements or any movement
towards following that traffic study. Her Community Council has asked UDOT and SLC
Transportation to join their meeting on the last Monday of the month to discuss this.
They would like to know where UDOT and SLC are at regarding implementing the study
recommendations since nothing has been done since the study. She also said she is
working on a project to get flags at all crosswalks since schools are open again. The flag
program works great during the school year, but as soon as schools close, they are no
longer responsible for summertime coverage. She asked Paul if there was someone from
the school district she could contact regarding allowing community councils to be able
to keep those flags filled when school is not in session. Paul said the school district
would support that and he will send her contact information. Ben asked if there was a
plan for bike lanes on 1300 South because it ends on State Street and his neighbor was
hit by a car while on his bike in that area. Jon said that is a challenging stretch and they
have been working on a bypass so people can take some streets to the north to cross.
Page 1 of 3 TAB 02-01-2021 Minutes
They are working with UTA on a crossing at Paxton Avenue to get across TRAX and then
it continues west where there is a HAWK beacon to cross safely on 300 West. Cyclists
can then come back to 1300 South and UDOT has an extra wide sidewalk acting as a
multi-use trail. Transportation still needs to figure out how to get people across State
Street safely, but the Ball Park Station Area Plan is also looking at improving walking,
biking, and lane use integration in and around that area. Suzanne said she would like to
reiterate what Ellen said about Foothill. She doesn't believe it was ever brought up to
City Council and wants to know why nothing has been brought forward. Jon said there
was a follow up study a couple years ago with UDOT to move ahead and implement this
plan. Along with UDOT, the City hired a consultant to do a technical analysis of
potentional costs and impacts so they could do some scoping and potentially move into
an environmental study. It turns out that it would have cost hundreds of millions and
would have taken out numerous properties including some historic properties and a
couple of churches to implement this full plan. A letter regarding this was sent out
about a year ago. The Mayor and the head of UDOT talked about it and decided to stay
true to the broader vision of the plan but focus on the smaller more incremental changes
rather than try to implement the entire plan at once. For example, at the Sunnyside
intersection over the next year or two, they should hopefully be seeing a major upgrade
as far as bike/ped comfort and safety, particularly crossing Foothill at that location. SLC
recognizes there is a lot of work to do and also looked at the intersection by Foothill
Village and worked with a technical team to help improve walkability there. Ellen asked
if Jon has that letter and he said he would find it and send it out. Suzanne said none of
that information has been passed on to the citizens involved in that study and she is
opposed to the idea that nothing can be done and thinks they need to move forward on
this with community involvement. Courtney said Di is seeing a lot of speeding,
particularly down 900 West. The PD community liaison situation has changed but they
are still trying to keep the community updated on those changes and other related
things going on. Jenn said Captain Beener oversees the community liaisons now and
that the traffic division has been shorthanded but is trying to catch up. If anyone sends
her specific places where speeding is a problem, she can try to get some speed boards up
or more officers in the area. Courtney said because of Covid, Rose Park hasn't been able
to do their festival. One of the ideas they were thinking of doing instead is a pop-up
event like the one that was at 600 North,but at four different locations around Rose
Park and doing a paint the pavement during the event. Courtney will contact
Transportation to coordinate this community lead project and get the proper permits.
Courtney showed and read the final draft letter of support for the CIP projects which
was voted on in December. No one had any concerns or suggested changes so this letter
will be sent out. Becka said there were a few changes to the way the CIP projects were
applied for. The final list is a little different but substantially the same as what they
reviewed. She will send the final list to the Board.
UTA Updates
Kerry Doane, UTA
The last update Kerry gave to TAB was March 3, 2020, about two weeks before things
began shutting down due to Covid. During that update, they talked about the change
day service choices and the SL County 4th quarter money. Much of that changed but not
the refreshed mission, continued service, and a lot of planning. She shared the changes
in ridership by mode due to Covid compared to the previous year. Busses experienced
the least reduction in ridership while commuter rail experienced the most. UTA
drastically reduced their service in April, and it has now climbed back. UTA has a new
Page 2 of 3 TAB 02-01-2021 Minutes
focus for the coming year including their mission,which is to provide integrated
mobility solutions to service life's connections, improve public health, and enhance
quality of life. In addition, their focus is on people (public and employees), service, and
stewardship (finance, environment, sustainable transportation). She explained these
and went through the planning process and RTP's (regional transportation plans) as
well as their strategic planning, service planning and operations planning. There is a
new Planning and Engagement Office within UTA, and she went over what their duties
will be. Kerry briefed the Board on their 5-year service plan which can be found online
at rideuta.com. UTA is looking at the future of light rail and studying the light rail
system. She went over the different phases of this study and talked about a separate
study of transit in the downtown area. The Hive Pass has been affected by Covid and is
currently down to 500 active passes. Kerry also went over a list of UTA projects outside
SLC limits.
SLC School District Update
Paul Schulte, SLC School District
SLC School District began bringing kids back to school last week but have always had
smalls groups attending and were providing community service such as food for their
students and the community. As of last week, students and parents have the option to
come back to school in person,but they also have the option to do virtual school. Paul
said they anticipate talking to the School Board about rebuilding the district office
downtown soon. It would be on the same sight as the old office, would have all
underground parking and they would work with the City to improve traffic flow around
the building. He also said they are working on a sustainability resolution. The goal of
this is to come up with a plan to be clean energy by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2040.
He would also like to discuss Hillside Elementary at an upcoming meeting.
Highland Drive Re-Striping Discussion
Jeff Gulden, SLC Transportation
Transportation is looking at making striping changes on Highland Drive from the
southern City limit to Warnock Avenue which is just south of I-80. Jeff went over the
project goals including the feasibility of putting bike lanes on that section, opportunities
to improve safety and efficiency for people driving and to improve circulation between
Sugar House and Millcreek's new downtown development. Millcreek will be restriping
their section to the SLC City limit this summer and SLC is evaluating how to connect the
Millcreek project with our section of Highland Drive. The project is what is called a
chip-seal and is an opportunity to revisit striping on the roadway and possibly add signs
to reflect striping changes. It is not an opportunity to modify roadway width, sidewalk,
curb, gutter,ADA ramps, etc. He showed a map of the study area and went through
some of the details. Kerry asked if they are considering the width of the lanes and how
challenging it is for busses. Jeff said they will work together for a solution and will be
doing civic engagement giving everyone a chance to provide input.
The next meeting of the Board was scheduled for March 1, 2021.
Motion: Kerry Doane motioned to adjourn the meeting; Myron Willson seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
Approved by TAB 03-01-21
Page 3 of 3 TAB 02-01-2021 Minutes