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Post by aristotle on Feb 2, 2011 1:50:53 GMT -7
I think it is essential that Provo prioritize making the necessary improvements to the Provo Airport (including easy I-15 access/freeway loop), that will allow our city to attract and keep one or more of the major national airlines. Provo needs to be able to attract an airline such as Southwest Airlines or Delta where residents and visitors alike can make a quick jump to/from Provo from a major national airport such as Phoenix or Las Vegas. Such service even just once or twice daily will be a game changer for the Provo economy. Daily carrier service will bring with it increased job opportunities for Provo residents. Such a strategic advantage would also be extremely attractive to national businesses considering Provo for expansion opportunities. A major carrier servicing Provo will eliminate commute times to and from the Salt Lake City Airport, (which will also reduce smog and congestion in Utah Valley), will offer convenience to local businesses (NuSkin, NuWays, etc., etc.), BYU and UVU (students, their families, guest lecturers, etc.), as well as the tens of thousands of yearly out of state MTC arrival and departures. A viable, affordable, convenient airport in Provo will attract local vacation and business travelers from throughout Utah County, and many counties south of us that currently must travel all the way to Salt Lake for their travel needs. This will bring both increased tax revenue and business opportunities as more people come to Provo and spend their money. I strongly feel we need to prioritize bringing the Provo airport up to speed.
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Post by Administrator on Mar 3, 2011 11:06:34 GMT -7
I hope you saw the news that Frontier Airlines will begin scheduled air service to Provo near the end of June 2011.
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Post by transguy on Mar 6, 2011 21:19:25 GMT -7
I agree with all of the goals except for part of #6 - "Goal 6. Provide street connections from the Provo Municipal Airport to the inter-modal hub and the I-15 freeway." The southwest connector makes a great deal of sense, but the northwest connector makes no sense at all for these reasons :
1. There is no reasonable destination on the northwest end of the proposed road - Geneva Road at 2000 N. It will only dump traffic onto Geneva Road, which has enough traffic, or into the roundabout at 2000 N and Sandhill Road, which is not built to handle much larger volumes of traffic. 2. Traffic from the airport that has a northern destination will most likely use Center St. east to the new $30 million interchange at I-15, then head north on I-15. I know that I will not drive an extra 4-5 miles on City streets to access the interstate when it will be very accessible from the new, improved Center St. interchange. 3. Lakeshore Drive, with the new $2 million "bridge to nowhere" that now connects Lakeshore Drive to Center St. at 3110 West, is carrying hardly any additional traffic than before the bridge was built. 3110 West connects Lakeshore Drive directly to the airport, and yet virtually no traffic is using that route to Geneva Road. Another parallel road between Lakeshore Drive and the lake is unnecessary. The Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) traffic modeling that was recently done indicates this proposed road will only generate enough traffic in the next 30 years to barely justify a collector street, and yet the City staff made them change the designation on the MAG Regional Transportation Plan to an arterial. There is no technical justification for a new arterial road in this alignment. 4. I know the developers of the yet-to-be-built "Celebration" or "Villages" development do not want that northwest connector coming through their development and forming a dangerous barrier for their future residents, but they acquiesced to the City staff as they knew the staff was determined to have this road. The developers and their consultants did not want to do anything to harm their chances of development approval, so they put it into their plans. If this proposed road was connecting to another road that has an interchange with I-15, it might make more sense, but it does not. I know that the City staff and City Council members have their minds made up on this, and I share the frustration of residents that fear the options presented at the open house will be options that are intended to make what they want look good. With a $17 million need for improved sewer service in west Provo, and a tremendous backlog of deferred maintenance on the City street system, it seems less than prudent to be considering spending $12-15 million on another "road to nowhere." Thanks for listening
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