Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

On the roster of cities making progress on green transportation in the western U.S., you have the usual suspects like Portland and Denver. But in terms of building track miles and adding busways, the city on the fastest pace might just be Salt Lake City, Utah.

false

Over the last decade, the capital of the reddest state in the union has quietly built one of the most comprehensive light rail systems in the country, says Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic. This weekend SLC opened two new light rail lines, an expansion that nearly doubled its rail network.

And Salt Lake City isn't stopping there. The city is planning a supporting network of streetcar and bus rapid transit lines. Also on the agenda are a heightened focus on transit-oriented development and increasing bus frequency.

The city owes its progress to the shrewd leveraging of federal funds, Freemark writes:

The region, with about 1.2 million inhabitants, now has as much light rail — 35 miles of it — as far larger metropolitan areas like Denver. Total TRAX ridership is expected to reach 58,000 a day by the end of this year, up from 43,000 today; ridership could exceed 100,000 daily by 2030.

These extensions, in addition to the Sugar House streetcar half-funded by a federal TIGER II grant and the BRT routes, are being completed fifteen years ahead of what was predicted to be feasible by the region’s original long-term plans laid out in the early 2000s. UTA’s 2003 purchase of the rail corridors along which most of the routes run was assumed to provide for expansion needs up to 2030 or 2040, but local entrepreneurship and skilled application of federal dollars pushed up construction.

Moreover, Utah seems to have taken strongly to the idea of transit-oriented development: A massive new mixed-use project called Daybreak has been constructed southwest of the city, directly along the final two stations of the Mid-Jordan extension.The developers were so convinced of the value of light rail that they agreed to provide $13 million in property and cash to the UTA to speed the line’s construction. Inhabitants of the area who work downtown may find the transit offering appealing: The reliable 42-minute trip time offered between it and Salt Lake’s courthouse is only about five minutes slower than a car trip on uncongested roads. As Jeff Wood has noted, it will be interesting to examine commuting trends for people who live here to see whether light rail is a useful tool or simply an exciting accessory to what is otherwise a standard suburban subdivision.

Salt Lake City's impressive progress would not have been possible without generous investment by the federal government. The city has received more than $1 billion from the feds, reports Freemark. And with the period of fiscal austerity that is currently prevailing, the window for other communities to follow may not necessarily stay open very long.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Shareable Cities reports on a new survey that shows car-sharing is delivering on its promise to reduce driving. Los Alamos Bikes wonders whether a local cyclist would still be alive had the state of New Mexico kept its promise to fully pave road shoulders. And M-Bike.org asserts that cycling continues its grassroots-level boom in Detroit.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines Have a System

The safe systems approach to street design, popular in Europe, could cut U.S. traffic deaths in half.

May 21, 2025

Does Transportation Advocacy Have a Place In the Wake of a Deadly Tornado?

Much of St. Louis is struggling in the wake of a deadly tornado. Amid such disasters, urbanism needs a pause and a rethink.

May 21, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Show Elections Have Consequences

"Woke" transit agencies need not apply for federal grants now that father of nine Sean Duffy is in charge.

May 20, 2025

Should We Treat the Local Bus As a Basic Right?

There's a way of framing public transit that makes the bus a useful mobility tool for everyone: as a moving extension of the sidewalk network.

May 20, 2025

Op-Ed: Public Transportation is Key to Social Mobility

"As wealth inequality grows and social mobility becomes more difficult, people without access to mobility will be left behind."

May 19, 2025

Car Harms Monday: Machines Took Over Cities and Left Humans in the Dust

There isn't enough physical space for every single household to store its fleet of personal vehicles in front of the home, nor is there space for everyone to drive at the same time. So let's fix that.

May 19, 2025
See all posts