Salt Lake Tribune: Historic Downtown a Train Ride Away

Very good ink for Ogden and worth a look

By Curmudgeon

Some very good ink for Ogden in the SL Trib this morning. Long feature piece headlined Ogden: Historic Downtown a Train Ride Away. It recommends downtown Ogden as a good choice for a quick get-away weekend night from SL City via Frontrunner: "Ogden • The idea for a weekend getaway proved surprisingly simple, satisfying and inexpensive." [The story tactfully does not mention that thanks to Mayor Godfrey and the Historic 25th Street Association, UTA buses no longer carry passengers from the Ogden Frontrunner station to Historic 25th Street.The story suggests walking. It does quote UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter happily reporting that people coming to Ogden by train "walk over to 25th Street.” Of course they do, Mr. Carpenter. Your buses don't go there anymore. Interesting business plan you have going there, Mr. Carpenter: encouraging people to walk instead of riding UTA transit.]

The story lists attractions, restaurants, hotels, the Farmers Market, clubs, museums, the Junction... all sorts of things but a train ride away from Salt Lake City. And it includes, unfortunately, the usual nonsense about Ogden people having an inferiority complex about where they live, being themselves either unaware of or surprised at what Ogden has to offer by way of weekend fun. [Note: the story does not mention "high adventure" as one of them.] This time the "inferiority complex" tripe comes from Rich Koski, director of sales for the Weber County Visitors and Convention Bureau. Another odd inclusion: the man whose job it is to boost Ogden to visitors telling a reporter people who live here don't think much of the place. Interesting marketing strategy you've got going there, Mr. Koski.

Long section on the Farmers Market, apparently Utah's second largest [after Salt Lake City]. Sadly, this year I've had to travel Frontrunner from Ogden to Salt Lake City to get to the Farmers Market there since no one at the Ogden Market this year is selling yellows sweet corn, one of the great joys of summer. So I travel down to Salt Lake City's market instead.

But I digress. The Trib article is very good ink for Ogden and worth a look. It also contains a good suggestion for UTA, I think: that it ought to institute limited Sunday service: a morning train, an afternoon train and an evening train.