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FrontRunner in the Top of Utah was worth the wait
See a slideshow of the Editorial Board's FrontRunner rideI have to admit, there are times when this newspapering dodge has its benefits. One of them was Friday, when several members of the Standard-Examiner's editorial board -- plus humor columnist Mark Saal and editorial cartoonist Cal Grondahl -- took a demonstration roundtrip ride on FrontRunner commuter rail from the Ogden Intermodal Transportation Hub to Salt Lake City's Intermodal Transportation Hub.
As my teenage daughters say, the experience was "sweet." We arrived at the Ogden station at 8 a.m. for an 8:08 a.m. departure, forewarned that since this was a training run for a Utah Transit Authority driver, the train would leave without anyone who didn't show.
We all got there in time. A couple of us brought along cameras; see some snapshots on StandardNET's "Spotted" -- http://spotted.tofuscene.com/ -- and I'll link to a slideshow of more photos from the online version of this column.
I've been writing about commuter rail since shortly after I was named editorial page editor: August 1996. That editorial bemoaned the loss of Amtrak service through Ogden, but cast a naively hopeful eye toward the future: "Now, about the only thing we have to look forward to is the possibility of commuter rail. There's talk -- and it's just that right now, talk -- that a heavy-rail line may be up and running within five years between Ogden and Provo, carrying commuters to and from Salt Lake City and limited points along the way."
Well, it's taken almost 12 years and, since Utah County whiffed and was late in signing onto the plan, FrontRunner travels only as far south as downtown Salt Lake City. But I'm telling you, it was worth the wait.
The first thing I did on the 200-seat passenger car was plop my laptop computer on a table (there are lots of tables in each double-decker car), plug it into a power outlet and go searching for a wireless signal. One of FrontRunner's amenity's was supposed to be blazing-fast wireless Internet service, and it was truth in advertising: My laptop located the signal right away, and its strength was excellent -- we were watching "Laugh-A-Minute" videos on StandardNET within seconds. Now, when I need to travel to meetings in downtown Salt Lake during the workday, I'll hop aboard FrontRunner and work going to and coming back from my appointment.
I should also mention that the ride was smooth, quiet and quick: We stopped at each of the six stations -- Roy, Clearfield, Layton, Farmington and Woods Cross -- along the way to Salt Lake, and the total time was 60 minutes on the dot.
But as terrific as FrontRunner is, I couldn't help but wonder what this innovation might mean for Ogden and, to a lesser degree, Layton. It will be so convenient -- and affordable, especially with the $12.50 family roundtrip ticket: two adults and up to six children under age 18 weeknights after 5 and all day Saturday -- for people to head off for Salt Lake's dining, theater, sporting events, etc., that I wonder if Top of Utah businesses will suffer. If you buy a ticket on FrontRunner, transfers to any bus or TRAX line is free. That family of eight can ride FrontRunner to Salt Lake, transfer free to TRAX, ride all the way to its south terminus and back again for that $12.50 fare. It's irresistable.
That means cities like Layton and Ogden should have devised regular, reliable shuttle services to appeal to people living in our region, as well as those who might enjoy a trip northward via commuter rail. (People who live south and travel north will be few and far between, I'm guessing.) Two years ago on the opinion pages, and a couple of times since, we urged Layton and Ogden to work with UTA or develop their own shuttle services to piggyback on commuter rail: a transit system set up to ferry visitors between the convention centers, shopping, restaurants and movie theaters. Otherwise, Top of Utah commuter rail passengers will simply head to Salt Lake to eat in the same or similar restaurants they have nearer home.
Or maybe I'm wrong, and the shuttle idea isn't workable. I'm no businessman, heaven knows.
The one thing I'm sure of, however, is that Ogden and Layton -- but mostly Ogden -- would be risking a lot to simply sit back and watch FrontRunner's convenience and affordability drain consumers away. It's time to crank up the marketing engine and strap on the thinking caps. (The fact that there's no Sunday service is a disappointment, too.)
Commuter rail is clearly a wonderful thing, but the economic side effects, over time, could be unpleasant.
Porter is the Standard-Examiner's editorial page editor. E-mail him at dporter@standard.net.
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I wanted to see if congestion decreased after FrontRunner. I went to the UDOT site and looked at traffic counts in March and again in May. Surprise surprise, traffic actually INCREASED! By 153 cars per day! You can see it for yourself. Congratulations Davis county, you just flushed 700 million dollars down the drain. Wow! Call me if you have any questions at 913-4611. Just a sidenote: Legacy opens in 2 weeks, it also cost 700 million.??
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