Mt View Corridor Hearing Draws Vocal Opposition

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Opponents of the Mountain View Corridor made up the majority at last night's public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement. UDOT plans to build the Westside freeway along either 5800 West or 7200 West.

Ivy Crane lives near 58-hundred West and says that option would doom her to both traffic and pollution. But she's not optimistic her opinion will make a difference in the end:

"We've been through this for years now - ever since it started," says Crane. "I feel like they're gonna do what they want to do, no matter what."

The Sierra Club mustered much of the opposition at last night's hearing. Spokesman Marc Heileson says UDOT should build a transit line first, and then build the eight-lane Mountain View Corridor. And he believes public opposition will influence the ultimate decision. After all, he says, it worked with the Legacy Parkway:

"This is just the draft EIS, first comment period and we think we can make some real changes," says Heilson. "We saw the good momentum that happened from the Legacy settlement where we get to see balance of transit and road capacity in some form. We see a real chance to keep that momentum moving forward."

Heileson's also not afraid to raise the specter of another lawsuit like the one that delayed Legacy for years. He says that can be avoided if state officials will change the Mountain View Corridor plan to include transit earlier in the timeline.

However, a spokesperson for UDOT says the 390-million dollars lawmakers have already allocated to begin the project can only be spent on roads.

Public comment continues through January 24th, including hearings tonight and Saturday.

-Thursday, Nov. 15, 4 - 8 p.m., Willow Creek Middle School, Lehi;
-Saturday, Nov. 17, 2 - 6 p.m., Copper Hills High School, West Jordan.

The DEIS will be available for review at the public hearings. It is also available on the project Web site, www.udot.utah.gov/mountainview, or at local libraries. Library locations are listed on the project Website. Comments on the DEIS may also be submitted through Jan. 24, 2008 via:

·The project Web site: www.udot.utah.gov/mountainview.
·E-mail: mountainview@utah.gov
·Mail: Mountain View Corridor, C/O Parsons Brinckerhoff, 488 E. Winchester St., Suite 400, Murray, Utah 84107
·Phone: (800) 596-2556

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom, Legislative Coverage, and 2007 Legislative Coverage. Copyright 2008 KCPW