OCR Text |
Show City wants action, not talk on Hwy. 89 BY JAMS CARTER "To assume it will be an expressway ex-pressway at this point in time is wrong," stated Senator Craig Peterson, Peter-son, referring to Highway 89, the future of which was once again the topic of debate at a recent Fruit Heights city council meeting. Members of the city council and citizens of Fruit Heights are gready concerned that although much talk is going on concerning the 89 corridor, cor-ridor, no action is taking place. Gene Findlay, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation, informed the council coun-cil that Senator Jake Gam is in the process of getting $5 million for funding changes on 89, and should know within approximately 30 days if that money is available. According to Findlay, he met with Senator Haven Barlow several times last winter during the legislative sessions and had Barlow's support in backing the recommendation, that with proper funding, an expressway would be the best solution. Feeling that too much time had passed with no action and that too many accidents had occurred, Mayor Blaine Nelson proposed that traffic signals be installed at 200 North in Kaysville and Oak Hills Drive in Layton, along with lowering lower-ing the speed limit to 45 mph, rather than waiting approximately three years for an expressway. Everyone feels like traffic signals would be an immediate solution, but according to Findlay, it is not. He went on to explain that accidents wtmM iirlj i't" '; ,hl T. - r - - on Shepard's Lane have not decreased with the traffic signal, and the severity of the accidents has increased. He said that TJDOT would support signals if they felt they would increase safety, but at this point they feel that a long term project is necessary. Lowering the speed limit requires a lot of red tape. The proposal has to go through the UDOT to the Federal Fed-eral Highway Administration and only on its approval can a speed limit be changed. Findlay stated that even with a lower speed limit, 85 percent of the public picks what they feel is a safe and sane speed and travels at this rate, regardless of what the set limit is. Proposing that everyone in the room had been in an accident, lost a friend or loved one in an accident, IJIIMJI or been involved in a near miss accident on the 89 corridor, Nelson played on the emotions of the audience, au-dience, stating that citizens do not always understand the red tape, but only the things that affect their lives. He feels that some immediate action is necessary. Denying that he agreed to support sup-port a long term expressway last winter, Senator Barlow stated that money has been appropriated for signals, and unless funds become available for an interchange, the citizens along the corridor want a light in a year. "We're sick of it,' the Senator said. Senator Peterson gave three steps and time periods that are necessary before the expressway could begin SEE HWY 89 A-2 HWY89 Cont. from A-l construction. 1. Environmental Impact Statement, State-ment, December 1,1990 to December 1991. 2. Design Study Report, completed com-pleted by June 1992 3. Complete Design Construction approved by UDOT, completed March 1993. Peterson felt that by May 1, 1993, which is about six months longer that the process necessary for installing traffic signals, they would be able to begin construction on the expressway. Findlay concluded by saying that come January, if the senate appropriation ap-propriation from Senator Gam fails, they will be willing to talk about a traffic signal plan. |