SALT LAKE CITY — It wasn't the flashiest bill the Utah Legislature passed this year nor was it the most contentious.will benefit statewide transportation for generations to come. The legislation, which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed last week, clarifies a few transportation mistakes in state code. It also creates an active transportation fund that can be used for infrastructure like paved pedestrian and nonmotorized trails, much like it has a fund for other types of transportation.
also sets aside $90 million toward active transportation projects, half of which comes from one-time spending and the other half of which will go into this new fund. The plan that Cox and UDOT unveiled last year would link the existing multiuse pathways in the state to one another. That means the multicounty Jordan River Parkway Trail along the Wasatch Front could eventually connect with a similar trail system in southern Utah. The same goes for other local paved trail networks across the state.
During a legislative meeting last month, UDOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras also pointed out that roads and public transportation alone won't meet the total transportation needs for Utah's ongoing growth. Both he and Cox refer to the idea as the "interstate of the trail systems" that already exist.