Standard-Examiner: Where Should the Streetcar Go?

Sounds like the City Council has its marching orders

Informative article in this morning's Standard-Examiner, highlighting the vast gap between the desires of the lumpencitizens regarding Ogden's proposed Streetcar System, and those of the UTA bureaucrats:

• Where should Ogden public transportation go?

Std-Ex reporter Roy Burton poses this question:

Should an Ogden streetcar system serve as a regional people-mover, reducing traffic congestion and getting travelers from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible?
Or should its primary goal be transit doubling as an economic engine to drive the revitalization of the city's lowest-income neighborhood?

Seems to us that UTA bureaucrats, through their stubbornness (or sheer laziness/mendaciousness), are forcing a false dilemma. Why would a central city streetcar alignment not adequately serve all of the above-stated goals, we ask? The UTA's position makes no sense.

Encouraging admission by UTA bureaucrat G.J. LaBonty:

UTA project manager G.J. LaBonty said he would encourage Ogden and the City Council to hold a full public meeting on the transit project to gather input from other groups in addition to the Trolley District proponents."Ultimately, this is the city council's decision to make," LaBonty said. "I heard a comment in there that we, meaning the project team, will force a decision from the stakeholders. That's not the way this works at all. [Emphasis added].

Sounds like the City Council has its marching orders. We accordingly urge the council to get moving on this forthwith.