I'm Smaller than Jax and I have rail: Salt Lake City

[thelakelander]

Transit oriented development projects continue to mushroom into reality around the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) TRAX light rail system. This collection of photographs illustrate the impact of Salt Lake City's decision to invest in light rail, 22 years after the original line began operation. Today, Salt Lake City's mass transit investment and complementary land use decisions can serve as a positive example for low density sunbelt cities like Jacksonville, that have yet to seriously invest in proven rapid mass transit strategies.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/im-smaller-than-jax-and-i-have-rail-salt-lake-city/

[ralpho37]

Must be nice to live in a city that gives a darn about, well, anything...

[CityLife]

Is Salt Lake City really smaller than Jax though? The Salt Lake/Provo/Ogden combined statistical area has a population of 2,658,000. The literal Salt Lake City Metro is only smaller in population because it does not include multiple contiguous counties. The light rail line goes all the way to Provo and Ogden, so the system is technically in a larger population base than Jax.

Semantics aside, great article and good example of a successful regional light rail line. I'd be curious to know how the various agencies, counties, and municipalities were able to pull it off together.

[Dolph1975]

Technically, with Jacksonville being the largest city in the US (outside of Anchorage) land-wise.... aren't all cities smaller than Jax?  With or without rail?

[thelakelander]

I don't know if you all have been there in person but it's definitely has a smaller town feel, from a US census metropolitan area perspective and what's really apples to apples....urbanized area. There really is no inner city. Outside of downtown, it's one big autocentric sprawling suburb in the valley. On the ground, there are different cultural dynamics and demographics at play, leading to a different political structure.

[thelakelander]

Technically, with Jacksonville being the largest city in the US (outside of Anchorage) land-wise.... aren't all cities smaller than Jax?  With or without rail?

I may have needed to be more clear, but we're talking about local population and population density as opposed to land mass.

[Ken_FSU]

Getting old.

I remember when the original article dropped 16 years ago.

Great update!

[jcjohnpaint]

I wonder how much running out of developable land plays in.

[thelakelander]

Not as much as we think. We're simply out of logical excuses locally for us not being able to accomplish much in this particular area.


There's nothing about running out of developable land in this common Salt Lake City scene.

You're in the boonies a short ten minute drive west of downtown Salt Lake City. They have lots of room for more sprawl, it that's what that community desired. Evidently, the preferences are different these days, so the infrastructure investments are more multimodally balanced.

[marcuscnelson]

Thought folks here might be interested in this video essay arguing for UTA's commuter rail expansion plans to focus on utilizing modern lightweight DMUs instead of more SunRail-esque locomotives and coaches. Also a valuable consideration for if JTA ever gets around to examining commuter rail beyond piling up studies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq5pvAis6uk

[Florida Power And Light]

Rail presence is absolutely not even on the check off list for the next home.