This post was originally developed to support a May 26, 2016 with Representative Kennedy and Senator Dayton, where the East-West Connector road was be discussed. As the road was opened on May 15th I’ve updated the document to reflect the important milestones since 2016 that led to the completion of the project.
For over 40 years an East-West Corridor road has been a part of Highland’s Master Plan. The 1980 Master Street Plan below shows two alternate routes (highlighted in yellow).
We collected traffic data and speed information on Canal Blvd from Sept 10th through Sept 26th 2019. The primary purpose of this data collection was to measure the impact on Canal Blvd due to the closure of 9600 N at Alpine Hwy. The short story is that the closure added between 400 and 500 trips per day to the current 1,000 trips a day. Note, Canal Blvd is a designed collector road that can readily accommodate`4,000 to 5,000 trips a day.
Traffic in Highland is a concern and will continue to be as the city finishes build out. Our population is approaching 20,000. At build out it looks like we may reach 25,000. In an effort to provide accurate traffic information to residents I have shared information about traffic counts taken at different locations over the last two years. This post compares the results of those counts.
We collected traffic data and speed information on 10400 N from August 21st through September 5th 2019 at 5750 W (see red markers above).
We collected traffic data and speed information on 6000 W from August 21st through September 4th 2019 at 9760 N (see red markers above).
We collected traffic data and speed information on 9600 N from July 16th through July 30th 2019 at 5900 N (see red markers above).
When I ran for office in 2017 I spoke with a resident who lived on Canal Blvd and had concerns about speed. I committed to asking staff to do a traffic count and speed analysis. Staff did and I provided the summary information they gave me to the resident. Residents are again expressing concern about traffic issues and potential traffic issues on Canal Blvd with the impending expansion of Canal Blvd to the East (the East-West connector) so I thought I would share the traffic information we collected in a more useful form. Note, I’ve probably spent over 20 hours putting this information together.
The East-West or Murdock Connector is a road which has been under discussion for about 40 years. When built, it will connect N. County Parkway (4800 W) with Alpine Hwy (5300 W) south of Lone Peak High School.
Fifteen residents attended the meeting. Not many considering the nature of the conversation, the Road Fee.
Another milestone was reached last month when a road study was completed on impact of constructing an East-West Connector. Below is a brief summary of the report, my analysis of the information provided, and suggestions on how you can impact the decision going forward. According to the study (click here to see the report).
There are issues with each of the locations for a connector which were analyzed (see the map above).
If you support the construction of the Murdock Connector (an east-west road between Alpine Highway and North County Blvd) please indicate your support by signing an online petition (click here to sign). This petition will be shared with Utah State legislators as they will need pass a bill this year to allow the road to cross state owned property. Also, our new State Senator, Dan Hemmert, and State Representative, Mike Kennedy, both have short constituent surveys that include a question on this issue. Please let them know how you feel on this and other issues such as education, internet sales tax, medical marijuana …. Click on their respective pictures to complete their survey’s .
 |  |
| State Senator Dan Hemmert | State Rep. Mike Kennedy |
Sixteen residents and others attended the council meeting none were at the work session.
The Cemetery Fund currently has a balance of $10,000. Plot fees are presently being used to refund the city for the purchase of the cemetery land. The goal of a perpetual care fund would be to build up a balance that would generate enough interest to cover all or most of the cost of maintaining the cemetery. Matt Millis, Zion Bank, walked us through multiple scenarios for increasing the lot and burial fees in order to reach a fund balance that would be self-sustaining. We generally agreed to build a balance to that would cover some of the maintenance cost of the cemetery. The fees needed to be reviewed periodically. We felt that the city should pay some portion of the costs as the cemetery does fill a “park role” for some residents. The estimated percentage of “park” was not fixed (10% to 15% was discussed). Staff will work with Mr. Millis to further refine the model and finalize initial fee recommendations. These would need to be approved at a future council meeting. Click here to review the presentation we were given.
Background: In 2011 a road study was begun which ended up projecting that the cost of repairing Highland’s D & F rated roads would be $16.2M. As the sturdy was reviewed by staff, residents, and council members a number of issues were uncovered which council and staff felt warranted a second opinion.
Earlier this year we executed a contract with PEPG Consulting to reassess C- through F rated roads in Highland using a core sampling methodology. Coring gives engineers a much better ability to assess the condition of a road segment and recommend an appropriate treatment. While the study was underway a committee composed of residents, staff members, and council members met monthly with PEPG to review the progress and provide input. I really appreciate those who participated.
On May 23rd the city held an open house to review the outcome of a recent road evaluation study we commissioned. Below are copies of the poster boards which were on display along with some short comments.
For a background on some of the history related to the land and the east-west connector please see my earlier post entitled “Highland East-West Connector History“.
We reviewed the work to date on the road study. PEPG confirmed that their final report would include an estimated timeframe the work should be done to a road after which the cost to repair would increase. Click here to view a copy of the presentation made by PEPG. Their general findings were that:
