In Thursday’s meeting of the House Transportation Committee, legislators moved Senate Bill 195 one step closer to passage. The vote was along partisan lines with ten yeas from Republicans and two nays from Democrats.
I was at the capitol in attendance as part of the opposition to a provision included in the bill that would limit Salt Lake City’s control over of its own streets. For those interested in the details, that particular provision starts at line 3071 and runs through line 3143.
The moment that has prompted me to write this open letter was a comment by Representative Clinton Okerlund of House District 42, which lies in southeastern Salt Lake County at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Representative Okerlund said, “Yeah, I’d just like to say I really respect and admire the number of people that took time out of their day to come up here, FIND PARKING, and make their way to this room to be able to … [laughter from audience] … to be able to come here and express your voice.” (Emphasis added.)
He was interrupted by spontaneous laughter from many people in the room due to the fact that the vast majority of those in opposition had arrived to the capitol by biking, riding UTA, or simply walking. I had biked from my office downtown. Representative Okerlund’s comment reveals the underlying struggle that faces many members of the Utah Legislature: They are unable to grasp the reality that people exist who live differently than they do.
There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding by many legislators of what Salt Lake City is. We are Salt Lake City. We are NOT Salt Lake Suburb. The overwhelming majority of people who are choosing to live in Salt Lake City are making a deliberate choice to locate to a city rather than to a suburb. Salt Lake City is NOT in competition with its suburbs. Salt Lake City is in competition with other cities. But yet many members of the Utah Legislature seem hellbent to chip away at what makes Salt Lake City a city.
I have lived in Salt Lake City for over 20 years now. The last eight years, I’ve deliberately lived without a car. I have been serving on Salt Lake City’s Planning Commission for almost four years. As a Planning Commissioner, I am required by state code (i.e. required by our legislators) to complete continuing education in order to serve on the commission. Yet there is no requirement for our legislators to educate themselves on the issues around which they legislate.
So, I’m recommending books for legislators seeking to educate themselves about transportation issues. For those truly seeking to make our streets safer, I recommend Confessions of a Recovering Engineer by Chuck Marohn and Killed by a Traffic Engineer by Wes Marshall. For those seeking to empathize with people who cannot drive, I recommend When Driving Is Not an Option by Anna Zivarts. For those seeking a better understanding of public transit, I recommend Human Transit by Jarrett Walker. And if parking really is your thing, I recommend The High Cost of Free Parking by the late Donald Shoup, who passed away a few weeks ago.
Mike Christensen is a long-time transit expert and executive director of the Utah Rail Passengers Association. He also serves on the Salt Lake City Planning Commission.
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