By: Curmudgeon
A very interesting letter has just appeared on the Standard-Examiner website. It says "Ogden City has decided to restrict UTA from using the 25th Street and Washington stop to pick up and drop off passengers":
• UTA is making changes to routesIt says the city-decreed new routes will be as follows:
" The bus routes will soon be changing for the 603, 612, and 470 routes.
603: the new route will be as follows: Wall Ave. to 26th st., 26th to Adams Ave., and Adams Ave. to 25th, after which the route will remain the same.
470/612: the southbound stop on the west side of the street directly in front of the park area will be discontinued. The new southbound route will only stop at 24th and 26th on Washington. The northbound stop on Washington at 25th will remain."
Several issues here:
1. Who in Ogden City government decided, if the letter's report is true, to tell UTA its buses could no longer run on historic 25th Street? And what authorization did he, she or they have to do that? Was public input sought, and if so when and how?
2. I thought Ogden City had a commitment to try to increase public transit use to improve business downtown. How will moving the 603 off Historic 25th Street, where it now lets off passengers, and picks them up [often me] conveniently close to Great Harvest and Roosters and Grounds for Coffee and Two Bit Street Cafe and all the other businesses on Historic 25th Street, a block away to 26th Street make the downtown businesses more accessible by public transit?
3. Moving the 603 downtown stops to 26th Street means moving the stops to a street with much less pedestrian traffic, and so [particularly in the winter when dusk comes around 4:30 or so] to a street much less safe than the current stop on 25th Street in the evenings.
4. What impact will eliminating the Washington/25th Street stop for the 470 and 612 along Washington and pushing the stops a block north and south have on passengers who now conveniently change buses at the current 25th and Washington stop? Particularly handicapped passengers?
On first glance, this one ranks right up there with wanting to spend $50K to study sled riding in Mt. Ogden Park for lousy ideas. It is such an asinine idea --- except perhaps from the perspective of encouraging more people to drive downtown and so create a demand for the five count 'em five damned new parking garages the Mayor wants to build there --- that I suspect it came from the same muddle-headed source. But I do not know that for a fact so will forbear further comment until I know more.
I wonder how all the merchants on 25th Street and those at The Junction feel about the 603--- the most heavily used route in the city and one of the most heavily used UTA tells me in their whole system --- being moved another full block away from their businesses?
The letter writer included a number where people can get more information about the changes: 888-743-3882
