A real central station for SLC

UTA's "Salt Lake Central Station" isn't very central. (You can see it in the central-lower left o the diagram below, with the plethora of bus numbers). All the buses end there, because it provides terminal facilities: parking for buses, and bathrooms/break rooms for drivers.

But if we were to look at it seriously, where would be put a 'central station' in center city SLC,  at the maximum density of bus route, where would that be? You can clearly see another location on the map with a lot of bus route access: Both on North Temple and on State Street. But to properly compare, we need to think about frequency as well: green is 15 minute, blue 30 minutes, red peak hour only, and yellow are other miscellaneous crap. So me, this suggests a clear lead for 200 S.

Which in turn suggests using Gallivan as a 'Bus Plaza': access to TRAX from the west, access to State Street bus routes to the east, and the 'Rainbow Road' of all the buses on 200 South.

'Central Station' is not so central...

Salt Lake's 'Central Station' is central to very little. The map below is a pretty good depiction of Salt Lake's downtown. The 'Central Station' is the Intermodal hub at the far periphery of the lower left hand corner of the map. For those unfamiliar with SLC, it has very large blocks-- about 8 blocks to the mile. That puts 'Central Station' a long way from downtown (Wells Fargo is tallest building, and hence assumable center).

If downtown SLC continues to grow westward and redevelop the industrial properties there, the area near 'Central Station' might become a vibrant urban center. But that's an idea I find unlikely. Check out the map below. The big blue line in I-15, a major 'through' interstate. It's over a 100' wide, and a significant barrier to urban growth. I find it much more likely that development will turn head south, until it reaches the 10th South exit.

As it is, it takes Salt Lake's various transit services a long way out of their way to reach it.

Making it worse, the new 'Viaduct Station' is completed at 500 W. and North Temple means it's no longer the best location for a FrontRunner/Trax transfer.  Right now, the Central Station serves as a node for buses, Trax, FrontRunner, Amtrak, and Greyhound. Once the North Temple line is completed, the talk is of adding another FrontRunner station, to permit easy transfers between the two.

From a transit planning perspective, it's a great idea--it will make traveling by commuter rail to downtown a great deal easier. But it will do a lot toward reducing the activity level at Central Station, which has never been high to begin with.

University Line Extension

The WFRC RTP shows a an extension to the University line along 400 S. to the University Line, reaching to 400 W. before heading north to the Salt Lake Central Station. I'm instinctively leery of downtown loops. They tend to suffer from a King David Effect--faced with two parties in competition for adjacency for a rail line, there is an effort to split the service, and offer each side 'half a baby', to the detriment of everyone. Two halves of adjacent transit lines tend to compete for riders, to the detriment of both lines. But with four blocks (half a mile) between the lines, that may not happen.

But that will depend on the operations plan. I feel certain the the Downtime Rising and Chamber of Commerce people will agitate for a dedicated TRAX circulator running around the on a continual basis. A better operation plan will include a direct route from the Central Station to the University of Utah, facilitating transfers between FrontRunner and the U of U. Possibly including a station along 400 S. near enough to Courtyard to facilitate transfers between the two locations.

But the North Temple Line will be complete long before the University Extension is, bring another TRAX line down 400 W. Where that will fit into the operations plan remains an open question. Presumably it will terminate at Salt Lake Central Station. An alternate operations plan would route it along the 400 S. University extension to connect directly to the University of Utah.

Time will tell.