When I was a teenager, I moved back to Washington DC to take a job in the United States Senate. It was at that point that I first encountered mass transit, taking the subway underground between the various government buildings.
It was efficient, saved time, was convenient, and moved a lot of people between the buildings. I could see how it helped a lot. I was glad it was there and I used it a lot.
With this as a background I wish to make a few comments about the Bus Rapid Transit lease agreement and interlocal government agency agreement that I signed for the city of Orem.
The Bus Rapid Transit is a mass transit bus system running from the Frontrunner
Station in Orem to the Frontrunner Station in Provo. It will run down the University
Parkway passed UVU, the University Place mall, then down to and through Provo.
This is a project that will cost a total of $190 Million dollars of which Utah County
will pay for a third of it or $65 Million dollars up front.
The BRT does not go down State Street in Orem, it will not take out any lanes of
traffic on the Parkway, it will not cost any additional taxes, it is already financed
and was not part of the Proposition #1 vote last year, it will help to improve our air
quality in Orem, and it will help to take some of the wear and tear off the roads
as well, saving 30% of it on the roads of those who ride the buses instead of cars.
UVU is looking to use the BRT as a way to help move their increasing student
population more efficiently. Mass transit will benefit the University Place and those
who come there to shop. It will help to curb the growing demand on our city transportation needs in the area it serves.
I believe it will be a forward looking benefit for our growing population in the future.
Many cities are looking in to doing the same. Ogden and Davis County are working
on plans for one for their communities. Another community with a BRT is expanding
their line.
While change is hard, I believe it will be a benefit for our community as a whole for
many years to come. I was at first against Trax in Salt Lake City. After having ridden
it for many years, seen how many people it helps to move, and how efficient it is, I am
now a fan of Trax.
The ridership for Trax is higher now than was originally projected. The ridership for Frontrunner is higher now than was originally projected. I believe that after several years ridership for the BRT will grow and be higher as well.
To keep all of the facts available I am including various items about the items on the BRT project ( now call PROTIP - Provo Orem Transportation Improvement Project) attached to this article.
Please note that with this project we will have new landscaping, which we in Orem will oversee, new hybrid diesel/electric buses, new widened Parkway access down the hill to Provo, new bridges in Provo, new trees and landscaping in Provo, and a new more modern way to move more people throughout our communities.
More information about this project can be found
here.
Thanks
Mayor Brunst
