Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

This has been a perpetual project on the LRTP for as long as I've been watching the LRTP--Trax along 400 South to Frontrunner. If I was a better man (or a real estate investor), I'd have gone broke waiting for it. At this point, I'm frankly uncertain of the need for it. If the point is to connect FrontRunner to the University/hospital (without requiring a transfer between Trax lines, there seem to be better ways to do it: Either a bus direct from FrontRunner along 200 S, or a 'Black Line' direct from the Airport to the U, connecting to FrontRunner along North Temple. 

If we're going to spend $75 million on transit, this is NOT how we should spend it.

Perhaps it's just dumb planning? A holdover from a decade past? Or perhaps Crayonista hubris, wanting all the Trax lines to connect to a central station? The latter seems unsupportable: rail road 'Union Stations' were a questionable American hubris when they were built: European cities seem to do fine with a variety of stations at railroad stations at the edge of their periphiques (where the old city stops). And the modern metropolis is multi-polar: bringing everything together at a single point is foolish, and any regional agency should oppose it.  In the past couple of years, UTA seems to be getting the idea of a 'transfer network' composed of high frequency bus routes (rather than the historically-based idiocy of trying to bring everyone downtown for a transfer). And I don't see how this project fits into it.

$75 million buys a lot of bus service hours. Buys even more bus service ($150m) 10 years out.  Investing in 'Crayonista' Trax doesn't seem like a very good idea....