Brigham City getting on board
Almost se
ven years ago, when voters in Davis and Weber counties approved a quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for commuter rail, traffic on I-15 was thick enough to make them yearn for mass transit.
Now it's 2007, and worsening traffic along I-15 between Box Elder and Salt Lake counties -- coupled with record-high gasoline prices -- is inspiring similar sentiments in Brigham City's elected leaders. They look south and see a commuter-rail line that will be up and running inside of a year, but only as far north as Pleasant View. They know that in another decade the traffic between Brigham City and the Weber County line will continue to worsen, and the convenience of travel and reduced expense offered by commuter rail is something they'd like to have in their neck of the woods.
So, it's likely Brigham City leaders will place a question on the November ballot: whether or not to hike the city's portion of the sales tax by a quarter cent to fund commuter rail. We encourage them to do so -- along with the communities of Willard and Perry.
If nothing else, the ever-increasing cost of gasoline makes this a no-brainer. Those of us who live along the soon-to-open commuter-rail line look at $3-plus-per-gallon gas right now and figure those trains can't start running soon enough.
Not only that, in the years to come, it will be more convenient for those of us who live south of Box Elder to ride commuter trains north to visit, shop and dine in the county.
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