MARCH / APRIL 2019
RIVERTON NEWS MAYOR’S MESSAGE
PUTTING THE HOUSING CART BEFORE THE TRANSPORTATION HORSE By Mayor Trent Staggs
Over 160,000 new people, or 70% of the entire population growth of Salt Lake County, have made the southwest communities of West Jordan, South Jordan, Riverton, Herriman, Copperton, and Bluffdale their home since 2000. About half of the increase is now attributed to move-ins from other states – in large part due to successful recruiting efforts by the State to relocate certain businesses and industries to the region. With more than half of the undeveloped acreage left in the county, this quadrant has seen a flurry of housing activity of all types to help accommodate this growth, increasing the amount of multifamily housing to 35% or more of all housing stock. These levels are on par or greater than other areas of the county. To support such rapid expansion, the State is trying to now play “catch up” with the requisite transportation infrastructure. Ask any resident from the area, or drive anywhere in the quadrant during peak hours, and you will know there is a problem.
If the anecdotal evidence isn’t enough to convince you of a transportation crisis in the southwest area, then consider these facts: •
•
•
•
There are 12 driving miles between I-15 and the western parts of Herriman, South Jordan and West Jordan, compared to just 6 miles from I-15 to Wasatch Blvd on the county’s east side. Twice the distance with no adequate east-west connectors, comparable to I-215. Major intersections in the area are in failure status, according to UDOT. Traffic count projections for 2040 are exponentially higher than today. From 2002 to 2016, southwest Salt Lake County communities received only about 23% of all transportation funding spent in the county. 70% of that funding was spent since 2010. Much of this funding has been used for right of way acquisition (buying land, not building roads). Mountain View Corridor, which didn’t even exist in 2010, is projected to have as many cars traveling on it as I-15 did in 2010 (150k+).
Bangerter Highway has the same traffic projections; the equivalent of two, I-15s running through the southwest part of the valley. Affordable housing proponents ignore the current transportation crisis. They are pushing the public and state policymakers to just add more housing, particularly multifamily housing. Moreover, the state legislature is now entertaining
options that would withhold state transportation dollars (your tax monies) to communities that don’t adhere to their top-down planning directives to build higher densities. This is wholly irresponsible, and it would only exacerbate the transportation crisis we are in today. It literally puts the cart before the horse – and then they’ll take away your horse if you don’t add to the cart! Continue reading on Page 2
Get Registered Riverton Half Marathon & 4Life 5K Saturday, March 30 | Half Marathon @ 9 a.m. | 4Life 5K @ 9:15 a.m. Late registration is now underway for the Riverton Half Marathon and 4Life 5K. Cost is $50 for the half marathon and $30 for the 5K.
runnercard.com
Riverton City Newsletter - March / April 2019
Page 1