South-of-Emigration-Creek-City?

Looking at the Salt Lake City Zoning Map [1], I idly wonder if Salt Lake wouldn't be a better off if it just transferred (de-annexed) everything south of Emigration Creek and East of 1700 E.  It's the part of the city characterized by houses zoned for 7000 SF and even 12,000 SF lots. It certainly complicates city politics. 

I suspect it's a non-starter for financial reasons--what city would want to lose the taxable revenue from the affluent suburbs its annexed? But I also suspect were Urban3 to do an analysis of SLC, it would show that most of the actual money comes from the urban core. (Lots of expensive property doesn't always generate a lot of revenue due to things like homestead exemptions). Which represents a substantial shift - for a long time, land values (and land uses) have so low that controlling affluent areas seemed like a win. But as suburbia ages, and the infrastructure renewals costs roll in, I suspect that may less the case. I doubt 'South-of-Emigration-City' would be financially sustainable on its own - not enough commercial development, not enough density. Perhaps it could join up with the City of Millcreek? 

I suppose it you were an arch-capitalist, you'd cut Salt Lake City down to the revenue generating parts, and de-annex the rest, and create something like the City of London. Not very politically viable though - the Utah Legislature would just bully it like they did with the Inland Port Overlay District, but worse. So perhaps that explains why two very different polities exist in one city--mutual defense. 

[1] I often genuinely forget that Salt Lake City extends south of I-80. It's a part of the city I never think about and almost never visit. Likewise, the part of South Salt Lake that extends north of I-80 always seems faintly absurd. Partially it's because SLC was so rigorous in annexing everything north of the 201 to the west. 

My comments on the Salt Lake City Draft Master Transportation Plan

The Plan (Draft)

The map

My comments:

Reducing local bus stop frequency would be a virtue. Fewer stops would mean faster transit and more money to be sent per station, so there is (minimally) someplace to sit, rather than 'a pole in a mud-puddle'. The new places along 200 south have been really nice. Arguably, even local buses should not stop more often than 1/4 a mile. The high-stop density in downtown makes riding a bus across downtown miserable--far faster to bike. The couple of minutes walking the larger number of stops saves a few people is outweighed by the delay is causes people still on the bus. Harm to those with walking difficulties can be mitigated by better bus stops, available seating, and improved walking conditions for sidewalks near bus stops.

Very pleased to see a 200 south connection direct to FrontRunner--getting between the FrontRunner and the U is almost astonishingly difficult. The University connection between main and 400 west has been on the books for decades, without success, and it's a pleasure to see an alternative under consideration. Upgrading an already successful line is a best practice in transit planning.

The new transit centers near the hospitals and at 2nd&7th are welcome. I might suggest the addition of a 'transfer center' at State and 200 East, to take advantage of the connection between the future State BRT/Bus+. I've heard Carl's Junior mooted as a site, or the use of Gallivan center, with a bit of a walk to transfer to Gallivan station. It's a long way to ask people to walk, but might be feasible.

Transit Signal Priority, segments of dedicated lane, and improving stops into level-boarding stations are all welcome and effective improvements. The emphasis on the creation of better bus corridors through ongoing capital spending rather than on high capital cost streetcars is welcome. The mooted continuance of the Sugarhouse streetcar along 1100/900 East (11c) seems more feasible as a bus. Connecting Westminster to Sugarhouse and the TRAX line is a surefire strategy for success.

I applaud avoiding Research Park along the the Foothill BRT/Bus plus (line 12). The lack of a I-215 NE means that some combination of Foothill and 13th East have to handle the traffic demand of a major freeway. Given the difficulty and cost of widening either street, using higher capacity alternative to make more efficient use of limited ROW is an excellent idea.

If a TRAX extension is in the works, a line along 400 West from 200 South to 700 South and eastward to 200 West is suggested. It would require only about a mile of new track, serve Pioneer Park and Pierpont, and free up much needed capacity along the main street line. Much of the median ROW is already preserved, so there would be no need to take traffic lanes. The greatest conflict would be with automobile traffic at 500 and 600 South.

Reducing local bus stop frequency would be a virtue. Fewer stops would mean faster transit and more money to be sent per station, so there is (minimally) someplace to sit, rather than 'a pole in a mud-puddle'. The new places along 200 south have been really nice. Arguably, even local buses should not stop more often than 1/4 a mile. The high-stop density in downtown makes riding a bus across downtown miserable--far faster to bike. The couple of minutes walking the larger number of stops saves a few people is outweighed by the delay is causes people still on the bus. Harm to those with walking difficulties can be mitigated by better bus stops, available seating, and improved walking conditions for sidewalks near bus stops.

Very pleased to see a 200 south connection direct to FrontRunner--getting between the FrontRunner and the U is almost astonishingly difficult. The University connection between main and 400 west has been on the books for decades, without success, and it's a pleasure to see an alternative under consideration. Upgrading an already successful line is a best practice in transit planning.

The new transit centers near the hospitals and at 2nd&7th are welcome. I might suggest the addition of a 'transfer center' at State and 200 East, to take advantage of the connection between the future State BRT/Bus+. I've heard Carl's Junior mooted as a site, or the use of Gallivan center, with a bit of a walk to transfer to Gallivan station. It's a long way to ask people to walk, but might be feasible.

Transit Signal Priority, segments of dedicated lane, and improving stops into level-boarding stations are all welcome and effective improvements. The emphasis on the creation of better bus corridors through ongoing capital spending rather than on high capital cost streetcars is welcome. The mooted continuance of the Sugarhouse streetcar along 1100/900 East (11c) seems more feasible as a bus. Connecting Westminster to Sugarhouse and the TRAX line is a surefire strategy for success.

I applaud avoiding Research Park along the the Foothill BRT/Bus plus (line 12). The lack of a I-215 NE means that some combination of Foothill and 13th East have to handle the traffic demand of a major freeway. Given the difficulty and cost of widening either street, using higher capacity alternative to make more efficient use of limited ROW is an excellent idea.

If a TRAX extension is in the works, a line along 400 West from 200 South to 700 South and eastward to 200 West is suggested. It would require only about a mile of new track, serve Pioneer Park and Pierpont, and free up much needed capacity along the main street line. Much of the median ROW is already preserved, so there would be no need to take traffic lanes. The greatest conflict would be with automobile traffic at 500 and 600 South.

Salt Lake City Draft Master Transportation Plan

Check it out!

http://slcrides.org/documents/

Growing a Transit Network

As far as I can tell, building a good rapid transit system is pretty simple: Good planning and incremental investment. That seems to be why San Diego has done well, Salt Lake has done well, and Denver's Fast-Track is a bit of a boondoggle. Doing it incrementally makes it possible to apply 'lessons learned' to subsequent expansions. It could be argued that SLC's last expansion (4 lines at once) 'overdid it', but I don't think so. While it was funded as a package, UTA has been pretty clever in phasing the construction time of the different lines so that everything hasn't been happening all at once. The South Jordan and West Valley lines started service on the same day, but neither the Airport nor Draper lines have completed construction. I suspect that made it possible to re-use construction equipment/staff time on the different lines.

TRAX vs. Streetcar

I was browsing UTA's website, and came across this map, for the West Valley TRAX line.



















It begs the question why the line doesn't just connect directly to the 2100 South Sugarhouse Streetcar, rather than requiring a transfer at the station. To me, the answer is clear: Different types of trains, so different types of funding, so different projects.

But it raises an interesting point regarding expert knowledge: What is common sense to me is not to my non-expert/non-professional friends and family. But I still need to be able to articulate that understanding, and to do so on a ad-hoc basis: There is no time to prepare a lengthy exposition. I need a ten word 'Elevator Speech'. (And that, I increasingly come to believe, is the essence of expertise: The seemingly effortless performance of public competence.) What will my ten word explanation be? "TRAX trains are too heavy". The issues of rail types, station spacing, double track versus single track, and the engineered weight capacities of different soil types are irrelevant.

Update: Scuttlebutt is that UTA actually plans to use regular TRAX trains along the Sugarhouse 'Streetcar' route. 

10 Minute Fare

I rode the Eugene, Oregon BRT ('Emerald Express', or EmX) last week from end to end. Very quick journey, not more than 18 minutes for the whole trip. Strangely enough, this was almost exactly the amount allotted my by my fare card. I found the idea of a 'timed' ticket rather relevatory, for it provides a solution to several issues UTA is having.

1) The 'Free Fare Zone' in downtown SLC. UTA promised it to the downtown merchants about a decade ago, and is not pleased with it. Ideally, any trip that begins and ends in downtown is free. Normally, patrons pay when boarding the bus. In the Free Fare Zone, this is not so, and passengers who leave the Free Fare Zone are supposed to pay without exiting. This aids and abets fare-beating, as passengers will board in the free zone, and disembark without paying, with not a thing the driver can do about it. Thus, UTA would very much like to do away with it, but downtown is very interested in keeping it for the convention crowd and the office worker lunch rush. Nobody wants to buy a $2.50 ticket to ride the train a couple of blocks, or even to ride the train a mile.

Currently, a one way TRAX tickets have a 2.5 hour limit, which is long enough to get from one end of the system to the other, such as from Central Station to Sandy. It's also long enough to make a short trip, run an errand, and get back, (although that can be a chancy thing).  So what about a 'Dollar Ticket'? Purchasable only from select downtown locations, and only good for 1 hour, and only sold at downtown stations? 

Some transit systems have a 'zone system', where you pay a different price depending on the number of zones you travel in. Within Zone1 might be one price, Zone1 to Zone2 a different price, and Zone1 to Zone 4 a different and much higher price. It forms a matrix of zone-pairs, and if you're not familar with it, trying to figure out which ticket to buy can be confusing.


But the dollar ticket is easy: Cost $1, gets you 10 minutes of travel-distance. More than enough to get around downtown. Buy a second one to return. Or you could include a 'right of return' option on it, so you can travel to any point within 10 minutes distance of the original station. Long enough to get lunch for the business crowd, and suitable for the convention crowd. It could even last all day. With the right of return, it's perilously near a zone system, but the time budget+origin station provides a bit more flexibility.

New TRAX!

Interesting to finally hear where the lines are going. The talk I had head suggested that there was a great deal of demand between West Valley and the U of U. There are going to be a LOT of trains on the stretch between Courthouse and 2100 South. All three lines use that stretch of track. I assume all three lines are going to run at 15 minute frequency, so that means a train every five minutes. Thirteenth South looks to be a better and better as a TOD site. I'm pleased to hear they've moved the transfer point away from Gallivan Center. It's a miserable station--cold and windy in the shadow of the Wells Fargo building. I won't miss the Juggaloes either. It is convenient to a number of amenities I'll miss though--an ATM at Wells Fargo, coffee at Sam Wellers, and AJ's convenience store. Still, only a block of walking away.  From the Utah Transportation Report:  UTA to launch Mid-Jordan, West Valley TRAX lines Sunday

SALT LAKE— Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will launch its Mid-Jordan and West Valley TRAX lines Sunday (Aug. 7), expanding significantly the region's light rail system. UTA held opening ceremonies for both lines yesterday (Aug. 2) and will have the lines open today (Aug. 3) from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. to give the public a preview of the new lines. UTA is partnering with the Utah Food Bank for a "Food as Your Fare" food drive today; riders boarding at one of the new stations are invited to contribute a non-perishable food item as their fare. As part of the system expansion, UTA is moving to a color-coded system for its different lines. The TRAX system will operate as the Blue (Sandy to Salt Lake Central), Red (Daybreak to University) and Green (West Valley to Salt Lake Central) lines. Under the new configuration, Red line trains will run between the University of Utah Medical Center and Daybreak in South Jordan. Green line trains will run between West Valley and Salt Lake Central Station. Blue line trains will run between Sandy and Salt Lake Central Station. The primary downtown transfer station between lines will be Courthouse (500 South). Travel between downtown and the University will require a transfer at Courthouse Station. The new Mid-Jordan line runs along the Bingham Branch Railroad corridor in a southwesterly direction branching off of the existing Sandy/Salt Lake light rail line at the 6400 South (Fashion Place) TRAX station and extending west to 5600 West. From there, the line turns south toward Kennecott's Daybreak development in South Jordan. The West Valley line connects to the current Sandy Line at 2100 South and ends near West Valley City Hall. The line branches off from the Sandy to Salt Lake TRAX Line at the 2100 South Central Pointe station traveling west crossing under Interstate 15. After crossing the Jordan River, the line turns south and then westward to run north of the Redwood Nature Area and the Decker Lake drainage canal. It then travels through the Chesterfield neighborhood along the Cross Town Trail and continues west across Redwood Road to Research Way. After following Decker Lake Drive to 3100 South at the Maverik Center, the light rail line continues west on the south side of 3100 South, then turns south on 2700 West, crossing 3500 South and ending at the West Valley City Hall, across from the Valley Fair Mall. Detailed schedule information is available at www.rideuta.com or by calling 801-RIDE-UTA (743-3882)

Gallivan Center

For those in the know, Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City (the location of the highly successful Twilight Conference series) was closed two years ago, for reconstruction. Specifically, the north lawn was converted to the large structure on the right of the picture. Looks like the ice-skating rink is being removed (no great loss) as well as the semi-covered Pavilion that obstructed the view of the stage. Hopefully, the elevated 'bridge' that helped divide the block into a series of inter-penetrating plazas, rather than a single awkward field.

They've added a permanent concrete pad directly in front of the stage (where the concert wrecked the lawn). It looks like the aviary to the east of the stage has been removed, and a new covered plaza added to the north of where it used to be. The north-south axiality has been really strongly reinforced, adding a huge glowing pillar as a  terminus at the South End. They've kept the central sun-dial rock+pillar, although most of the other elements of the sun-dial seem to have been sacrificed to axiality.

Salt Lake City Piling up the Accolades

The Utah Transportation Report tells me that:

SALT LAKE—A national study on transit by the Brookings Institution listed Salt Lake the third best city in the U.S. for coverage and job access for a transit system and noted that 15 of the top 20 cities are in the West.

The study found that 89 percent of Salt Lake City metro area residents are near a transit stop; transit users wait an average 8.5 minutes for a transit vehicle during rush hour; and 59 percent of all jobs in the metro area are reachable via transit in 90 minutes or less.
In addition to Salt Lake City, top performers include Honolulu, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, Tucson, Fresno and Las Vegas. 

The study found that public transit is a critical part of the economic and social fabric of metropolitan areas. Nearly 30 million trips are made every day using public transit. Almost all of these trips occur in the nation's 100 largest metro areas, which account for over 95 percent of all transit passenger miles traveled. People take transit for any number of reasons, but one of the most common is to get to work.

However, when it comes to the question of how effectively transit connects people and jobs within and across these metropolitan areas, strikingly little is known. With governments at all levels considering deep budget cuts, it is increasingly important to understand not just the location and frequency of transit service, but ultimately how well transit aligns with where people work and live. To better understand these issues, the Metropolitan Policy Program developed a comprehensive database that provides the first comparable, detailed look at transit coverage and connectivity across and within the nation's major metro areas.
An analysis of data from 371 transit providers in the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas reveals that: 

Fifteen of the 20 metro areas that rank highest on a combined score of transit coverage and job access are in the West. Top performers include metro areas with noted transit systems such as New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Washington, but also Honolulu, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Fresno, and Las Vegas. Conversely, 15 of the 20 metro areas that rank lowest are in the South. 

These trends have three broad implications for leaders at the local, regional, state, and national levels. Transportation leaders should make access to jobs an explicit priority in their spending and service decisions, especially given the budget pressures they face.

Metro leaders should coordinate strategies regarding land use, economic development, and housing with transit decisions in order to ensure that transit reaches more people and more jobs efficiently. And federal officials should collect and disseminate standardized transit data to enable public, private, and non-profit actors to make more informed decisions and ultimately maximize the benefits of transit for labor markets.

Nearly 70 percent of large metropolitan residents live in neighborhoods with access to transit service of some kind. Transit coverage is highest in Western metro areas such as Honolulu and Los Angeles, and lowest in Southern metro areas such as Chattanooga and Greenville. Regardless of region, residents of cities and lower-income neighborhoods have better access to transit than residents of suburbs and middle/higher-income neighborhoods. 

In neighborhoods covered by transit, morning rush hour service occurs about once every 10 minutes for the typical metropolitan commuter. In less than one quarter of large metro areas (23), however, is this typical service frequency, or "headway," under 10 minutes. These include very large metro areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington. Transit services city residents on average almost twice as frequently as suburban residents.
The typical metropolitan resident can reach about 30 percent of jobs in their metropolitan area via transit in 90 minutes. Job access differs considerably across metro areas, from 60 percent in Honolulu to just 7 percent in Palm Bay, reflecting variable transit coverage levels and service frequencies, and variable levels of employment and population decentralization. Among very large metro areas, the share of jobs accessible via transit ranges from 37 percent in Washington and New York to 16 percent in Miami. 

About one-quarter of jobs in low- and middle-skill industries are accessible via transit within 90 minutes for the typical metropolitan commuter, compared to one-third of jobs in high-skill industries. This reflects the higher concentration of high-skill jobs in cities, which are uniformly better served by transit. It also points to potentially large accessibility problems for workers in growing low-income suburban communities, who on average can access only about 22 percent of metropolitan jobs in low- and middle-skill industries for which they may be most qualified. 

You can read more about it at Brookings, or download the full report here.

North Temple Transfer Station

I had heard tales of a North Temple Transfer Station between Trax and FrontRunner, but no official confirmation. You can read about it in the Deseret News here or watch the video here. I won't call the station pretty, (it's very utilitarian) but it's not hideous either. It will be nice to have alternative access/egress from the viaduct--viaducts are never comfortable walking environments because it's impossible to detour. It would be really nice if the FrontRunner station on the ground level also connected to the local street grid. I didn't see any ticket vending machines or seating in the video, but that may be a lack in the animation, rather than a lack in planning.

TRAX vs. Bus

Living in a suburb of Salt Lake city, I walked a mile to reach the TRAX Light Rail every morning. It's not uncommon for me to walk a mile home from the TRAX. But I've NEVER walked that far to catch a bus, despite years of being car dependent. Part of that is Salt Lake Counties peculiar geography--in a mountain valley, it's hard to more than a mile or two from a TRAX station. But part of it is the sheer dependability of TRAX. I'll walk a mile rather than wait 15 minutes for a bus, even heavily loaded. It is less uncertain and less boring. 'High capacity' transit is bundled with a whole host of other transit improvements, and those improvements provide a great deal of the benefit we associate with rail transit.

Stop Spacing and Mode

I was reading a post on stop spacing at Human Transit where Jarrett Walker talks about streetcars vs light rail, and makes the distinction:

The terms streetcar/tram and light rail will be most useful if we use them to refer to the prevailing stop spacing, not the exclusivity of the right-of-way. 

Staring at the last graphic, I had an epiphany: With the addition of so many stations in downtown, and such indirect routing, TRAX is being asked to operate as a streetcar. It's kind of an open secret that the TRAX ridership between the Arena Station and the Salt Lake Central Station is terrible. Old Greek Town station is FAR too close to both Salt Lake Central Station and Planetarium Station. Salt Lake's blocks may be 660' long, but stop spacing for transit is supposed to be about twice that. 

From 10000 South in Sandy to about 500 South (Courthouse) in Salt Lake, stations on the TRAX line are about a mile apart. The 900 South stop breaks the pattern, but it was a mid-point stations added later as an early effort by UTA to promote TOD. SLC then-Mayor Rocky Anderson then demanded TWO additional stations when the TRAX line was extended from Arena to Salt Lake Central Station. But as a result, between 1300 South and Salt Lake Central Station, there are now NINE TRAX stations over a distance of 3 miles, and it takes about half hour to cover the distance. That gives it an average speed of about 10 minutes a mile.While the stop spacing is reasonable for 'local' transit service, it's kind of a waste to use Light Rail for that purpose. TRAX covers the distance between 10600 South and 1300 South in LESS time than it takes to wind through downtown.

Ergo, efforts should be made to preserve TRAX for rapid transit, and use a different (and less expensive) vehicle for downtown circulation. Perhaps a streetcar....

Old Greek Town Station needs to go

Currently, SLC has a problem: It's kind of an open secret that the TRAX ridership between the Arena Station and the Salt Lake Central Station kind of sucks. And I think I know why: Old Greek Town station is FAR too close to both Salt Lake Central Station and Planetarium Station. Salt Lake's blocks may be 660' long, but stop spacing for transit should be about 1200', and the station is within 1000' of both. I know WHY it's there--SLC's former Mayor, Rocky Anderson, demanded it as a nexus for additional 'Transit Oriented Development' in downtown. It was a bad idea at the time, but UTA permitted it because Salt Lake City was paying for the line. 

Along the Sandy line, each additional TRAX stop adds about 3 minutes to the journey. Downtown, I'd estimate it's greater. The Sandy line has dedicated Right of Way, and so never needs to deal with traffic lights. Downtown, making the stop at Greek town means the train has to match up with the traffic light. When it fails to do so, that requires waiting for the light to cycle, adding another minutes worth of wait time. 

Adding the 9400 South TRAX station cost about $2.1, so closing a station represents a pretty blatant waste of funds, plus the additional political cost of confusion by riders attempting to board or disembark at a non-functional station.