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GREATER
AVENUES COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes
September 6, 2000 ~ Page 6
TRAFFIC:
This is a big issue. It is a problem. In fact, because we did
a traffic study and there are 40,000 trips that take place around
the capitol every day. On Columbus Street there were 23,000.
It is estimated that it will grow to 34,0000. We have met with
UDOT and asked where those trips are coming from. It is basically
from Davis County commuters. QUESTION: Whom are you contracted
with for your traffic study? RESPONSE: Sear Brown. COMMENT:
They did a bad job on Main Street. We don't see them as a credible
source. They said no impact. We disagree. We at the Capitol
are also concerned with traffic. I have people complain that
they can't get out of the Capitol parking lots to get home because
of commuter traffic. We want to reduce traffic as well. Most
of that traffic is from Bountiful. I watched when I lived there
(near the Capitol for years, and few cars turned into neighborhood
streets. We have spoken to UDOT (Utah Department of Traffic).
UDOT's way of viewing things are different than ours at the
Capitol. Their goal and plan is to move traffic efficiently,
and they have recommended a lot of things that we disagree with.
We have just received our report and we are going to see if
we cannot resolve the issues. QUESTION: Do you have any
plans to move those people who work at the Capitol to an area
where they can get on and off a freeway easily and so it will
cut down the traffic in the Avenues and Capitol Hill area? RESPONSE:
We contribute about 3000 trips a day, which is about 7%. That
includes visitors. We have looked at moving the people. It is
neither effective nor efficient. They have impact on how legislative
things are made. We cannot move them off and it creates more
problems than it solves. QUESTION: You are going to lose
space in the remolding and you are already short. Can you talk
about your plans for other buildings? RESPONSE: What
I can tell you is that we have 165,000 sq. feet, and we are
short 45,000. . I we restore the building back to how it was,
we will lose an additional 35,000 sq. feet. If you look like
growth of the past 20 years, it is 17% which is less than 4
people per year. If you add 80 people in the next 50 years,
which is what we are trying to do in our planning, we end up
165,000 square feet short. We cannot renovate the building without
closing it. We have looked at moving people off the hill during
the restoration and putting them by the airport in rental space.
What we found was that in the long run it does not solve our
problem of missing 165,000 sq. feet and it is very costly. We
tried to put them in State Office building and we would have
to add on the State office building. We know you do not want
us to put more buildings on the Capitol Plaza, and that has
weighed heavily on our minds. So we have tried to look at adding
the additional space without adding any more people, except
those who will be needed. We need to take a 50-year look out
in our planning. We would take out the heat plant, move the
greenhouses, and modify things to clean up the area. We don't
need more than 150 car places at best, but we would like to
put it underground so that we return more green space. If the
state office building is obsolete, we would build it a much
smaller building, and so we have not added more space. We are
thinking about building the space instead of renting the space,
so we could use it when the remodeling is over. The space I'm
talking about is not for space for an office for each Senator.
Just shared Conference rooms. QUESTION: The Supreme Court
had offices and they have moved. Who uses their space now? RESPONSE:
It will become a Committee room. I heard it will become a cafeteria.
RESPONSE: Totally false. We would like to come back next
month, and in December, so we can show you what we are thinking
about. We would like to have your impute. Your chairman Richard
Leonard is on the Advisory Board. Next Wednesday we will look
at the plans again. And we will come back and gain your input.
QUESTION: How much will it cost? Several millions of
dollars. We are not yet sure of the amount. The State of California
did it to their building and it cost $180 million. Legislature
said no bonds last year. So the State did only a portion of
things that were necessary. The Capitol Restoration will have
to be done differently, as with a bond. We are looking at a
phasing plan. MOTION: I make a Motion that this community
council be respectful of the Master Plan for the area. We do
not want to look at any plans for the Capitol that will increase
the traffic in the area. RICHARD: The proposal ought to be that
we decrease the traffic coming through that area. The Capitol
Area and the Avenues is the fastest way to get to the University
and the Hospital. If you put 5 stop signs in that area, the
commuters would begin to go down 3rd and 4th West as they were
intended. COMMENT: We need them to divert all the traffic
that goes to the Uof U. UDOT is difficult and has their own
plans that don't begin to help our, or Capitol Hill neighborhoods.
COMMENT - Dave: On voting, taking a hard-line position
might be premature. If we can work with the State Capitol Restoration,
several members of the Committee has an ability to control UDOT,
and then we would both be better served. I would recommend that
you wait until our next meeting when we have more facts for
you to vote on a position. We may move the entry points to different
points where we enter and exit the Capitol area. We may look
at closing a portion of Columbus Street. We agree that we need
a reduction in the traffic. The difficulty is that UDOT's position
is to move traffic. We want to maintain the dignity of the area
as much as you do. We want it to be beautiful. It is the 2nd
or 3rd. most beautiful Capitol in the Nation. We want to keep
it that way, by looking at different ways of decreasing traffic
as well. Victory Road we have no jurisdiction over, but we do
have jurisdiction over Columbus Street. MARY McDonald: I want
to make motion that we take a vote on a position that what ever
you do it does not negatively affect the traffic in out areas.
Seconded. Discussion: I would like to have a lot more information
before we take a position. I would like to see the whole plan
before we take an official stand. We need to take the vote.
It was a motion made. Who is in favor, who is opposed? Hands
were raised, no official count was made, and it was about equal,
some wanting to wait to get more information to take an official
position. Vote was informational for Richard Leonard to know
how to represent us at the Advisory Board meetings, which was
that we want a reduction in traffic as part of the Capitol Restoration
plan.
THE
LIBRARIAN: It is time to leave...
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