OCR Text |
Show Proposed route may ease access to U A new scenic route is in the proposal stages for access to the University campus and other points. This route, it is hoped may help alleviate the traffic congestion caused by some forty thousand auto trips per day, which is the level at present, and to alleviate future congestion caused by projected growth rates of 3 percent. loseph Fenton, City Traffic Engineer, described the route as possibly extending from Sunnyside Avenue to 11th Avenue to and Virginia Street (1340 East). There is a possibility of an extension which would connect the road, named Bonneville Scenic Drive, to Foothill Drive, thereby easing access to the University and University Hospital. This was discussed at a meeting of the University of Utah Traffic Advisory Council, which met Thursday evening to examine this proposal and to study possible future problems which may be encountered en-countered as a result of the growth of the University Research Park, and to review the progress of busing from Married Student Housing, which was instituted on the 14th of February. To be positioned East of the University campus and the University Research Park, the road would run at approximately the 5200 foot elevation level and eventually connect to proposed sections of the North Eastern quadrant of the Belt Route. The road would be, in all probability, six lanes wide and of the limited access type, but not of the Interstate type. Limited access simply means that driveways and minor streets would not be allowed access, but speeds would not be f the magnitude of the Interstate level, probably averaging 45-50 miles per hour. For use in the planning stages, $30,000 has been allocated, but not appropriated for the project. The funding for the planning will very llkelV come from the Federal Government throrgh the Urban Aid Administration. As evidence of the very early planning stages which were presented the meeting, the State Road Commission has not begun to study lne situation yet. sfar, the City, in its planning for the project, has looked at building onlVa very small section of the roadway, and leaving the project at H but this section involved the usage of free-flowing traffic, rather than signal lights to control traffic. The Project, if approved, will very likely require 5-8 years to complete 0reven see the beginning of construction, as the proposal would nfd Years study and hearings before approval of funds can even be a Possibility. Hussion also centered on the possible ramifications of the Merging Research Park, which is still amost exclusively in he inning stage. Some of the problems mentioned included he Possibility of University students using parking designed tor the Search park as an overflow. |