Once asphalted, forever gone
Once asphalted. Forever gone.
The extreme widening that UDOT has in mind for the 2.6 mile-stretch of SR 210/Wasatch Blvd from Ft. Union Blvd intersection down the to High T intersection just north of La Caille is unnecessary according to UDOT’s own traffic studies.*
Once they have removed existing old growth pine trees, shrubs and green space in exchange for the negative effects and highly expensive and financially unsustainable maintenance associated with asphalting, this precious foothill area will be forever degradated. Forever gone in exchange for induced demand, diminished biodiversity and greenery to cool and filter our air. Permanently discarded in exchange for noise and denatured experience for all.
In the State Route 210/Wasatch Blvd stretch Ft. Union Blvd south 2.6 miles there are eleven intersecting neighborhood streets. Of all other State Routes in Utah, the majority of state routes have a posted speed of 35mph or a maximum of 40mph when they pass through a town with only two or three streets. Our 2.6 mile stretch has eleven and a posted speed of 50mph!
Strava cycling reports that this stretch is highist utilized by cyclists in the state of Utah. With post-Covid levels of distracted, impaired and speeding motorists and the acceptance, as is stated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Safe Systems Approach", that roadways through residential areas must take into account human error, a 50mph road design is way too fast.
NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials) studies show that T-bone motorist to motorist collisions, which is likely when motorists are entering and exiting from side roads into roadways, with speeds over 35mph are usually fatal.
The SR 210 stretch is no place for a posted speed of 50mph. UDOT needs to analyze and report on why SR 210 is treated differently from the majority of other State Routes. You can and should demand that.
Since the installation of the "High-T intersection" where SR 210/Wasatch Blvd splits just north of the La Caille Restaurant, bullet and HOG bikers and motorists in unmuffled vehicles can see the green light as they drive southbound from Golden Hills Avenue. There begins, for many, an unbridled gunning for speed. Noise pollution to surrounding pedestrians, cyclists and residents can be intolerable.
This also occurs as motorists leave the Ft. Union Blvd intersection going southbound.
In 2022, CHPD clocked speeds as high as 72mph. With the traffic study speed averaging 48mph, we know that many drivers are well in excess of 50mph in this area where people live and try to sleep, and cyclists, pedestrians, children and motorists from adjoining neighborhoods attempt to turn left to cross traffic or even having to “gun it” when turning right into fast moving traffic is contrary to a Safe System Approach.
We need the Region 2 UDOT Director to immediately run updated traffic analysis of the dangerous areas including the 1/8 mile stretch south of Ft. Union/SR 210 intersection AND Kings Hill Drive intersection AND the area in and south of Golden Hills Avenue/High T intersection. Road re-design to signal drivers that they are coming into a residential area and must slow down are needed NOW.
· The problems of SR 210 Ft. Union Blvd, Kings Hill and Golden Hills Ave/High T Intersection need immediate improvement not expansion.
· We believe UDOT 2050 data is flawed and does not support the widening of Wasatch Blvd for commuter traffic but instead for the 2500 parking-stall gondola garage and a proposed adjacent private “La Caille Ski Village” (see April, 2020 UDOT EIS public comment “La Caille Ski Village” that includes traffic study by Hales Engineering). UDOT’s “Gondola B phased in” preference includes a six-lane width Wasatch Blvd Expansion within the Bengal/Golden Hills corridor portion of SR 210. UDOT data shows a potential slow down of six minutes in 27 years from now (see the LCC Final EIS Volume 2, Chapter 10A of the Air Quality Technical Report). There is no current need for additional lanes.
In community,
Ellen Birrell
*I will be posting more information on the flaws in the Fehr & Peers traffic study conducted by UDOT for the LCC EIS shortly. Attend the 6-8pm, January 30th Town Hall Meeting for more information.