Farmington Citizens

Here are a few interesting bits of commentary that have cropped up on the web since the release of the level 2 screening results:

• Farmington residents starts a blog: http://paveourparks.blogspot.com/
• Eight-grader and Kaysville resident is fired up over the alternative alignment east of power corridor. Letter to the Salt Lake Tribune Editor: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/51231177-82/udot-highway-lives-west.html.csp. Same person in the Standard-examiner: http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2011/02/12/road-taking-my-home
• The Clipper reports on the open house turnout in Farmington: http://www.clippertoday.com/view/full_story/11365808/article-Thousands-come-out-to-protest-West-Davis-route?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
• Syracuse weighs in on the issue: http://www.standard.net/topics/transportation/2011/02/09/syracuse-scrutinize-west-davis-corridor-alternatives
• Angry Kaysville residents (video option): http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=14282975

The level 2 screening results are now published on UDOT's WDC website. The good news is that west Farmington won't be split in half by the D&RGW alternative B alignment. The main alternative is C as the I-15 alignment with a connection to Shepard Lane. The south and westerly alignment through west Farmington is still an option.

Newspaper articles about the anouncement:

• Salt Lake Tribune article
• Standard-Examiner article
• Clipper article

 

UDOT's West Davis Corridor EIS study team has announced by email an open house schedule for the results of the level 2 screening. Mark your calendars and notice the 2/8/2011 option to participate via the web:

February 8, 2011
ONLINE via our website (live chat and interactive presentation) or in person at West Point City Hall
3200 West 300 North, West Point
4:30 - 8 p.m.

February 9, 2011
Legacy Events Center
151 South 1100 West, Farmington
4:30 - 8 p.m.

February 10, 2011
Kanesville Elementary School
3112 South 3500 West, West Haven
4:30 - 8 p.m.

The Standard Examiner reports that the Farmington City Council and Mayor support a C-1 alignment for the West Davis Corridor:

http://www.standard.net/topics/roads/2011/01/09/farmington-leaders-give-west-davis-corridor-thumbs

This is a shift in City policy as the Farmington City Master Transportation Plan currently supports the A-1 or westerly alignment. This has not always been the case as the Farmington Master Transportation Plan was changed in recent years to align with the A-1 far westerly alignment.  A C-1 (parallel to I-15) type of an alignment has historically been the preferred route by UDOT and Farmington City. Up until 2007 the City, UDOT, commercial/residential developers, residents all thought Legacy would travel through Farmington parallel to I-15 then north of the City to west Kaysville. 

This was changed back in 2006-2007 when UDOT commissioned a study to determine how to connect the existing Legacy Parkway and the future North Davis highway through Farmington. The 2007 study choose what we know now as the B-1 alignment. The study claimed that at a C-1 alignment was too costly and not safe. Because the B-1 alignment was and is not politically, socially, and environmentally feasible Farmington City was left to choose the far westerly A-1 alignment. The A-1 alignment also comes with serious political and environmental baggage.

With the on-going EIS work by UDOT all alignments are back on the table. All alignments through Farmington have survived the first round of screening. Now the second round of screening results will be announced in February.

UDOT has published maps with the results of the Level 1 screening for the West Davis corridor. They eliminated 32 alternatives from 46 leaving 14. With regards to Farmington all of the alternatives made it through Level 1 screening.

Maps of the Level 1 screening results are here: http://www.udot.utah.gov/westdavis/maps. The larger map of the Farmington routes is here: http://www.udot.utah.gov/westdavis/img/content/rb1-full.jpg

Some interesting details that emerged from the L1 screening:

• All 2-lane and 5-lane new arterial roadway options were eliminated (any new road for this project would be a 4-lane divided highway).
• The alternatives that followed the D&RGW railroad north of Farmington were eliminated. The D&RGW (B-1) through Farmington is still on the table.
• The alternative that included only transit improvements without any roadway improvements was eliminated. Hopefully transit will still be apart of the final transit solution
• No trail was considered.

What is next? UDOT will now whittle down the 14 alternatives in a Level 2 screening process. Results will be made available in February. 

Last week UDOT held a meeting with the West Davis Stake Holder group. UDOT presented the alternatives that passed through level one screening. All alternatives through Farmington for the West Davis corridor are still viable. The C-1 modified alternative as presented by Matt Gore has also passed level 1 screening. Now it is time for level 2 screening of the alternatives. The results of the level 2 screening will be known in the February 2011 time frame.

This letter is from David Stringfellow a farmingtoncitizens.org subcriber and is in response to the resent post advocating the C-1 alighment. David opposes the C-1 alignment and favors the existing south and westerly alignment as indicated in the Farmington City Master Transporation plan. Any other thoughtful opinions on the West Davis Corridor alignments are welcomed and may be posted.

 

Farmington Citizens,

Many have advocated recently for a C-1 West Davis Corridor option. It is proposed that we can efficiently join 4 major transportation hubs in a very small area. Some readers may have experience driving in other states or countries, those places I have driven that attempt this kind of 'flexibility' often end up in traffic jams for hours. I think transportation engineers should be a bit more humble and recognize the physical limitation some spaces impose.

Most Farmington residents will not be using whatever highway ends up being built on the West Davis Corridor. This road will primarily be a way of getting future west-side commuters of northern Davis, Weber, and Ogden Counties to and from Salt Lake County.  I believe the highway should be as initially envisaged, a complete west side highway stretching from Ogden to Salt Lake City.  This corridor should link to the now existing Legacy Highway, and only the Legacy Highway. This will keep most commuters on the west side transportation route until they get to Salt Lake County, instead of having them flood the very same routes we are trying to access. By connecting only with the Legacy Highway; it will help ensure that the capacity on Legacy Highway is actually used and leave the rest of us with a more efficient (ie, less crowded) route to transport ourselves south.

Some have raised objections that a western alignment would damage the environment. While some areas may be unavoidably impacted, the same is true in cutting across the E-1 designated corridor as wetlands are also present through this corridor. Additionally, it is my belief that a western most alignment would demarcate an impassable barrier beyond which future development could not encroach. Without a western aligned road, the pressures of development accompanying a doubling of the population along the Wasatch Front would slowly and persistently encroach on the wetlands. By adopting a western alignment that is sensitive to wetlands, while avoiding existing housing communities to the greatest degree possible, the physical boundaries of Farmington will be unalterably set. Over the next 50 years, we would work together to shape and fully build out the great city I've called home for over 20 years.

Unfortunately, whatever alignment is adopted will impact some homes.  Whether it be a handful of homes near Glovers Lane, the unfortunate loss of the Buffalo Ranch, or plowing through two neighborhoods straddling the Kaysville/Farmington border, some homes will be lost.  We can imagine that in a world without resource constraints, our government may be persuaded to tunnel under neighborhoods or build elevated highways.  As far as dreams go, maybe we could ask them to build the highway on Antelope Island instead.  But we live in a world with resource constraints; false hope among our community in which everyone's home is unscathed borders on delusion when confronted with the current facts.  Our community has a difficult and uncomfortable decision to make. Our city leaders have lead the way in making this decision by in reviewing the evidence, the facts, the transportation models, and available alternatives. A cursory look at the map will reveal why Farmington City altered the Master Transportation Plan to prefer a western/southern boundary preference for the West Davis Corridor. If the decision is between putting the corridor between 2 beautifully planned, dense neighborhoods among 235 homes, flanked by 2 LDS churches OR placing it as far to the west and south as possible while minimizing the number of impacted homes; which course would you choose?

I support Farmington's decision because it is what is best for the city. It is the best option for most of it's residents. The decision underwent months of hearings, study, a lot of expense in hiring a professional transportation planner, and our own communities input. I encourage the support of the western/southern alignment for the West Davis Corridor and would encourage all to express this same opinion to UDOT.

boldly,
David Stringfellow