District 1: Stephen Otterstrom
What do you think is the top transportation issue in our city? How would you address it if elected?
Several barriers divide our Westside communities from the rest of the city, making it harder for us to travel to other parts of Salt Lake and preventing others from coming in to access our local businesses. Talk to any Westsider and you will hear the stories of missed appointments and late arrivals to baseball games because of trains blocking the roads.
The Rio Grande Plan aims to address these issues by relocating and burying the rails that run through downtown Salt Lake City, as well as those that continue out west. This plan would not only remove several train crossing locations that cut off the Westside from the rest of town, but it would also free up 50+ acres of land that make up the current rail yards. I support the Rio Grande Plan, put together by our neighbors, as one of many solutions to this divide.
The Salt Lake County Council and several SLC Community Councils have issued letters in support of the Rio Grande Plan. Our current city council has not even made this minimum effort to lead on this initiative. When advocating for this plan, I would support looking into city, county, and federal grants and funding mechanisms. I have reservations about receiving state funding unless we have assurances the state will not create a special taxing district (like they did with the inland port). If they did this, it could prevent Salt Lake City from receiving its share of tax revenue, which would prevent the city from seeing the economic benefits of the plan.
In a typical week, how often do you travel by transit, bicycle, or foot, without the use of a car? Would you commit to going car-free for one week per year?
I work from home so I do not have to do much travel. When I can I generally walk and I am sorry to say my Bike has been neglected more than I care to admit. I would happily commit to going car-free for one week each year.
How do you feel about parking minimums? Should the city continue to set parking minimums, or should it be the choice of the business owners?
In some contexts, parking minimums are still needed. For commercial zones, the city should work with business owners to determine how much parking is adequate. Sugarhouse has shown us how transportation limitations (namely prolonged construction and limited parking) can negatively impact businesses, including causing them to close. In denser parts of the city, it could make sense to preserve adequate parking, and these determinations should be made by proactively seeking input from business owners and residents.
I tend to favor parking minimums for residential areas, especially apartment buildings. We don’t ask those living in single-family homes to live without a car, and we shouldn’t ask that of renters. While some areas of the city have better access to transit, many areas of the Westside lack this. Salt Lake punches above its weight when it comes to our public transit, but the delays and gaps in access can cause residents to lose their jobs due to tardiness and miss classes and other obligations. Fewer parking spots per unit would make sense in the downtown core and along the more-reliable TRAX lines, but it wouldn’t make as much sense on the northern end of Redwood Road where the buses are less frequent and reliable.
