The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) board of trustees has formally adopted the agency’s long-range transit plan, “UTA Moves 2050.”
The recently released document is the result of collaboration amonmg UTA; regional transportation and planning partners such as the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG); and local communities. Its aim is to outline plans to meet the growing public transportation demands of the Wasatch Front over the next 30 years.
“‘UTA Moves 2050’ lays the groundwork for a future where transit services are more frequent, reliable, accessible and effective at helping Utah achieve sustainable growth and a better quality of life,” UTA said in releasing the plan.
Priorities and phasing recommended in the plan are the result of many sources of data and partnerships, including regional transportation plans, financial assessments and forecasts of population and development growth, UTA said. It also reflects public feedback from meetings and listening sessions, formal comments and an online survey.
“More frequent service on bus, FrontRunner and TRAX was a repeated priority by both riders and non-riders,” said Alex Beim, manager of long-range and strategic planning at UTA. “The plan reflects phasing and projects to both speed up our service while maintaining reliability and safety.”
To guide future investment decisions among the many options, the plan recommends four core strategies: maintain the current system and infrastructure; enhance the system to be faster, more reliable, easier to navigate and more responsive; expand the frequency of service, including 15-minute or better on many bus and rail services; and serve and expand in growth areas to support transit-oriented communities and developments.
Utah’s record growth presents opportunities and challenges for public transportation.
The document looks closely at topics like land use, population density and growth patterns and specific performance and costs for various types of transit service to identify innovative options. The plan also supports larger UTA goals, such as making transit service available within one-half mile of 70 percent of the population in its service area.
“UTA follows a comprehensive public involvement and partnering process from plan to investment and study to construction,” said Beim. “We understand that growth, technology, funding and demand may change over the next three decades.”
UTA said the transportation plan will have its next update in 2027. The full plan is accessible at rideuta.com/lrtp.