A follow up to adventure 38

You may recall my recall my recent adventure of going a day without a car. Well, the mayor of North Salt Lake, Len Arave responded to my appraisal of the city's accommodations (or lack there of) for the pedestrian.

Since I don't really have any pictures to accompany this letter, I'll throw in this accidental shot that popped up in a recent upload. (you know how much I love an accidental)

Below are are few excerpts from his email, and my response to his thoughts. The mayor is in italics.

Deserae,

I saw the blog and it looks like you had a lot of fun.  A few things for your information.  Route 460 does actually serve Foxboro, but it is a commuter route and has limited service.  This route was actually on the chopping block last year, but we were able to save it.  

I appreciate that this route was saved, and the mayor is right, the service is limited. VERY limited. There are 2 pickup times, 6: 32 AM, and 7: 42 AM. This is great, but, as previously stated, extremely limiting. The drop off times in the evening are 4:30 PM, and 5: 37 PM, which would mean if I was a commuter to downtown, and worked until 5 PM, I'd be out of luck.

Regarding 1100 N, we have realized that there are needed improvements for some time now.  We bid and were able to get funding to improve the road for the year 2017.  Fortunately, it looks like we may be able to move that up to next year.  I believe we are planning on having a lane separated path like we have on Center street for most of its length.  

This is good news!

If you are interested in active transportation, Center street has a separated path for most of its length. From there, you can meander down Main Street and cross Hghway 89 at the light and there is another separated path you can take into Salt Lake.  

I think when the mayor says, 'active transportation' he's referring to walking. He's suggesting a path to walk downtown. If he's not, and he may be suggesting I walk to the bus stop down that way, which would add 3 miles to my walk. If I had plenty of time, this would be viable option.  

I’m sure you are already aware of the legacy trail that also goes into SaltLake.  It is also our hope to someday have a Frontrunner station at Center street, but that looks like a difficult proposition for now.  We will continue to work on it however.  

I am aware of the legacy trail. It would work well for the citizen who uses nothing but biking for the commute. Which, I believe many do take advantage of, because I see them on the trail in the morning. This trail is well utilized, and many people love it! Also it's always good to know other options for the future are being thought of. 

Finally, there is a South Davis Transit study going on right now that the city is participating in to try to improve our access to mass transit.  I hope this helps understanding where we are heading.  

Well, I'm glad there are things in the works. And to be fair to my poor mayor, this area has been an industrial area for quite a long time. The boom of housing development is quite recent, and rapidly growing. This summer alone I witnessed 4 blocks of houses and apartments pop up in my neighborhood, with much more dirt being moved around for next year.

We're not quite up to Salt Lake City standards, but improvements are being made, and that's all I can ask.