Thursday, May 30, 2013

Standard-Examiner: Ogden OKs Transit System Study From Intermodal Hub to WSU to McKay-Dee

Dare we ask the question? Is an Ogden Streetcar system finally in our future?

At risk of coming off as a mite late to the party, we'll shine the spotlight on a story from yesterday's Standard-Examiner, reporting on the result of one agenda item on Tuesday night's Ogden City Council calender, representing what we believe to be a most significant and too-long-coming milestone in Ogden City public transit advocates' effort to establish a high-quality transit system between Ogden’s downtown corridor and the campuses of WSU and the Dee-McKay Hospital.  Here's the gist:
OGDEN — The once-stalled Ogden streetcar project is now gaining some major forward momentum.
The city council adopted a joint resolution Tuesday night, authorizing a study for a transit system connecting the Utah Transit Authority Intermodal Hub, Weber State University and McKay-Dee Hospital.
Officials said that, ideally, the study will result in a high-quality transit system between Ogden’s downtown corridor and the campuses of WSU and the hospital.
“Ultimately, we want to identify a project that can be taken to construction and built,” said Hal Johnson, UTA manager of project development.
Read the full story here, folks:
Yes, it's been a long haul. Except for one dismal and knuckle-headed distraction which took this project off-track for at least half a decade, Ogden City lumpencitizens and Northern Utah commuters might have been otherwise on the verge of enjoying the comfort and convenience of a cross-town public transit system amenity years ago.

We've sat on our collective thumbs here in Ogden for years, whilst our more aggressive and better-focused neighbors to the south now put the finishing touches on their own cross-town, high-quality transit system project, even as we speak.

A Weber County Forum Tip "O the Hat to the Ogden City Council for at last placing this project on the front burner, where it clearly belongs.

Dare we ask the question?  Is an Ogden Streetcar System finally in our future?

7 comments:

smaatguy said...

soooo....who is doing the study? for 800k, that thing better go out for an RFP

VH said...

At the rate it has progressed, I now fear I won't see it in my lifetime, but TRAX for Ogden would reflect a proactive, business-friendly, people-friendly city.

Ogden Lover said...

What happened to data from the study done a few years ago?

smaatguy said...

get with the program....we do studies until we get the results we want...

rudizink said...

Exactamundo, Smaatguy. I do believe you've nailed it!

Danny said...

My thought was similar to others'. Is this about the sixth time they've "studied" this? For the money spend on all these "studies", they could have built the thing already.

And how come it takes a million dollars for a "study", to "study" something that has been "studied" by so many, including public and private concerns, over and over? This stinks. Somebody is on the inside here, to do this new "study" for so much money. Watch, it won't be competitively bid.

How about having somebody just read all the previous "studies"? Dan Shroeder would probably do that and come up with a good recommendation, for free!

The amount of money Ogden spends on "studies", I'm in the wrong line of work. I should do "studies" for a living. Of course, to do that I'd have to be corrupt. Same old problem. Hard to make a living off the gummint in Utah if you're not corrupt.

smaatguy said...

And the study will be done by some out of town "guru" that knows more about who we are than we do....same thing with this library bond...what Linda wants she gets....and it all heads out of town.

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