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Show Volume XV Issue V The Ogden Valley news Page February 15, 2008 UDOT Issues Winter Walking Tips for Students UDOT, through its Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP), issued winter walking tips for Utah’s students today, encouraging students to continue walking safely to school through the winter season. According to the United States Centers for Disease Controls (CDC), the percentage of children walking or biking to school dropped from nearly 90% 1969 to only 63% in 2001. The CDC performed a survey of parents and found that weather was the third most commonly cited reason for not letting children walk or bike to school. Distance, trafficrelated danger, and crime danger rounded out the top four reasons. “Utah elementary, junior high, and middle schools offer a valuable tool called a SNAP plan, in which educators carefully determine the safest routes for our students to get to and from school each day,” said Robert Hull, UDOT director of traffic and safety. “It is unfortunate that students are being deterred from this healthy activity by cold and snow. By offering these walking tips for winter weather, we hope our students will follow their school’s SNAP plan and venture safely on foot to school this season.” Tips for Safe Winter Walking 1. Follow your school’s SNAP plan, which outlines the safest routes for students to walk to school. 2. Dress in layers and wear boots with nonskid soles. 3. Wearing dark “winter” colors can make it difficult for motorists to see you. If you have a dark coat, add a brightly colored scarf or hat or reflective gear. 4. Snow and ice may keep motorists from stopping at traffic signals or slowing down for pedestrians. Before you step off of the curb into the street, make sure that any approaching vehicles have come to a complete stop. 5. Slow down. Walking quickly or running can increase your chances of falling. Wear gloves to avoid putting your hands in your pockets. 6. Walk on sidewalks if possible. If sidewalks are covered in snow and ice and you must walk in the street, walk against the flow of traffic and as close to the curb as you can. Along with tips for students walking to school, UDOT also issued recommendations for Utah’s drivers in the winter. “It is not enough for parents and students to walk carefully to school,” Hull said. “It is imperative that drivers be extra cautious in the winter weather, especially where there are children walking to school.” Tips for Safe Winter Driving 1. Know what your brakes will do:Stomp on antilock brakes and pump non-antilock brakes. 2. Slow down and increase your following distance. The braking distance for road surfaces with rain, snow, sleet, or ice can be three to nine times greater than breaking distances on dry, clear road surfaces. 3. Buckle up and use child safety seats properly. 4. Keep your eyes open for pedestrians walking in the road. 5. Bridges and overpasses get slick and icy even before the roads since their temperatures are five to six degrees colder than the roadway. Be especially cautious when temperatures drop to freezing or just below. 6. Plan your route to avoid icy streets and leave early. 7. Use low beams in wet weather. 8. Remember, if there is a need to turn wipers on, there’s a need to turn the lights on. SNAP is a part of the statewide Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program. Safe Routes to School is a federal program administered through the Federal Highway Administration, designed to work with schools and communities to increase the number of children walking and biking safely to school. Every elementary, junior high, and middle school in the state is required to have a SNAP plan. Projects around the country incorporate a variety of education, engineering and enforcement strategies that make routes safer for children to walk and bike to school, and encouragement strategies to motivate more children to walk and bike. More information about the Student Neighborhood Access Program is available at <www.udot.utah.gov/SNAP> Safety in Ogden Valley There are also a number of safety issues especially relevant to drivers in Ogden Valley this winter. With our extra heavy WOLF CREEK SEWER IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA ITEMS INCLUDE: PROPOSED IMPACT FEE INCREASE ON NEW CONNECTION APPLICATIONS ONLY NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Wolf Creek Sewer Improvement District will hold a public hearing to present information, hear comments and take action on the proposed Impact Fee increase on new connection applications only. The reason for the purposed increase is to cover the 2008 budgeted expenses. This meeting is scheduled for February 13, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. and will be held at Wolf Creek Resort Pineview Lodge, located at 3923 Wolf Creek Drive, Eden, UT 84310. The public is invited to share comments and questions during this meeting. Lowell Peterson, President Attest: Cindy Boccia snowfalls have come extra high snowbanks, which often make for poor visibility. One problem is cars backing out onto major thoroughfares where oncoming traffic can’t see the vehicle until it is already out into the path of oncoming traffic. This is especially dangerous if the roads are slick and braking is difficult, and cars are traveling at higher speeds. Try backing your car into your driveway so you can pull out frontward instead of backing out. Drivers can slow down and be extra vigilant about watching for traffic moving out onto highways and side streets until snowbanks recede and visibility improves. Most importantly, slow down, slow down, and slow down . . . ! Speed is usually the main factor in preventable accidents. Property Owners Could Get Tax Break By Loretta Park, Standard-Examiner Staff Property owners who live on more than one acre but less than five acres would get a tax break if a bill makes its way through the Legislature. The state taxes 55% of the value of a person’s primary residence, which includes their home, and up to one acre of property. “A number of homeowners in the Ogden Valley are required to live on three-acre lots because of communities’ zoning ordinances,” said Weber County Commissioner Craig Dearden. Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, is sponsoring House Bill 155. “Assessors should assess the first acre and home at market value,” Froerer said, “and the remaining acres should be assessed at 20 percent to 25 percent of the first acre’s value.” “If people are required to live on three acres, they should receive an exemption,” Dearden said. Froerer said he has heard from property owners who live in areas zoned for lots larger than one acre that their taxes on the acres they cannot develop have been assessed the full value of $100,000 to $200,000 an acre. “Anyone who owns more than five acres can apply for a greenbelt exemption,” Froerer said. The bill was tabled by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Tuesday and will be heard again Thursday. Frank Gardner, with the Utah Association of Counties, said the bill raises a number of questions, which county governments would like answered. The association is not scheduled to meet until Thursday morning after the committee meeting, but Gardner said they could call an emergency meeting to discuss Froerer’s bill. “County governments are the ones charged with the administration of property taxes,” Gardner said. “Anyone who could afford more than one acre shouldn’t have the exemption,” Gardner said. “Not everyone needs five acres.” “How was it decided it was a luxury?” asked Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville. Gardner said the Legislature decided about 25 years ago the size of a residential lot was one acre, and anything over was considered “a luxury.” The policy of taxing people who own more than one acre at a higher rate is a policy of “picking winners and losers,” Tilton said. “This bill seeks to tax people equally. I support this over a policy of picking winners and losers.” Note: This article was originally printed in the Standard-Examiner on February 6, 2008, and is being used by permission. |