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  #7081  
Old Posted Dec 12, 2016, 7:07 PM
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While I haven't read the entire plan, yet. So far I only see one reference to subsidized passes within developments. I have read of other cities where they greatly reduce parking minimums for new development, replace them with maximums (which we have done in a few areas) but they are also required to provide a certain number of transit passes per unit as well. Just like a minimum parking requirement, but it's a minimum transit pass requirement instead. Being able to reduce the cost of parking in a new development can do a few things for the developer. 1) Reduce the overall cost for the entire development, 2) Allow them to build more units within their budget. By reducing the cost per unit it allows for rents to be less, balancing out the market. It also reduces pollution, as less people will be driving because they have a transit pass as part of their rent.

I have mentioned this to my two friends on City Council in the past, and will make sure to bring it up to them again when it comes time to go to City Council, and I will bring it up at the City Council discussions.
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  #7082  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2016, 11:12 PM
ImaJem ImaJem is offline
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Not sure if any of you know/care, but on my website rounds I found this

Apple Maps Now Supports Transit Directions in Salt Lake City:
http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/11/...alt-lake-city/
UTA also said they're still doing testing with it. The interesting thing about apple's transit directions is that apple works closely with transit agencies to make info as accurate as possible. I wonder why this was published before UTA was finished testing?

I don't even have an iPhone and I'm excited!

I also found this:
Utah Transit Authority awards New Flyer a contract for up to 35 60-foot New Flyer Xcelsior diesel-electric hybrid buses


60 foot busses? Maybe these are for BRT lines...
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  #7083  
Old Posted Dec 13, 2016, 11:46 PM
UrbanDesign UrbanDesign is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaJem View Post
Not sure if any of you know/care, but on my website rounds I found this

Apple Maps Now Supports Transit Directions in Salt Lake City:
http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/11/...alt-lake-city/
UTA also said they're still doing testing with it. The interesting thing about apple's transit directions is that apple works closely with transit agencies to make info as accurate as possible. I wonder why this was published before UTA was finished testing?

I don't even have an iPhone and I'm excited!

60 foot busses? Maybe these are for BRT lines...

Finally! I have waited for this since iOS 9! Google maps is great but the ability to use Siri for direction is so much quicker for me. This will be great going forward
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  #7084  
Old Posted Dec 14, 2016, 5:26 PM
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Originally Posted by ImaJem View Post
That does sound like the BRT order, except I had thought they were planning on using compressed natural gas as fuel. Diesel-electric Hybrid is a very intriguing development. It saves money by not requiring a special CNG refueling depot for BRT buses - they can use the same one the regular buses use, or visa versa. Best case scenario: This steers UTA out of the CNG dead-end and points it directly to fully electric buses when those become economical. Worst case: UTA never gets off diesel, and we all breathe smog for the rest of our lives.

This link is to Xcelsior's site, and I like what I see:https://www.newflyer.com/buses/xcelsior-2
These are going to be great buses.

35 buses is also interesting. I'd read elsewhere that 25 buses would be needed for the project. Perhaps UTA is very confident that other projects, like the Taylorsville BRT project, will come on-line soon after the Provo-Orem line.

Either way, good find!
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  #7085  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2016, 6:23 AM
Liberty Wellsian Liberty Wellsian is offline
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Originally Posted by UrbanDesign View Post
Finally! I have waited for this since iOS 9! Google maps is great but the ability to use Siri for direction is so much quicker for me. This will be great going forward
Buy an android. Apple has been behind the curve for a few years now. I had both at one point(business/personal) and can tell you for sure that Android is now a superior product. Voice recognition is actually better than Siri now believe it or not.
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  #7086  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2016, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Liberty Wellsian View Post
Buy an android. Apple has been behind the curve for a few years now. I had both at one point(business/personal) and can tell you for sure that Android is now a superior product. Voice recognition is actually better than Siri now believe it or not.
Android voice recognition must be amazing then because Siri never misunderstands me, even though I often like to speak to her in various foreign accents. You can keep you android, thanks.
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  #7087  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2016, 4:28 PM
Liberty Wellsian Liberty Wellsian is offline
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Originally Posted by Stenar View Post
Android voice recognition must be amazing then because Siri never misunderstands me, even though I often like to speak to her in various foreign accents. You can keep you android, thanks.
Wait what?

Do you practice bad impressions on your way to a dinner party?

"Throw another shrimp on the barbie, Siri"

:/
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  #7088  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2016, 5:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Liberty Wellsian View Post
Wait what?

Do you practice bad impressions on your way to a dinner party?

"Throw another shrimp on the barbie, Siri"

:/
I just like accents. I'm quite good at them and I use them all the time for fun.
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  #7089  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2016, 8:38 PM
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For me, it isn't the voice recognition but result relevance where I believe Google has bested Apple. I have an iPhone and a Pixel (iPhone for work, Pixel for me). As an example, during the close of Season 5 Game of Thrones, I asked both Ok Google (at that time I had a Google Nexus) and Siri on my iPhone "Did Jon Snow really die?" Ok Google immediately gave me GoT gossip websites, predictions and reviews as my top results, whereas Siri brought up a Wikipedia article about some English guy named Jon Snow who died hundreds of years ago. The same query may have a more relevant result today now that Apple has had a chance to tweak the results after complaints from users, but the point is in that very moment, right when something was happening, Google knew what I wanted and Siri was absolutely clueless. I know that is anecdotal, but it is a pronounced example of what I have experienced the last two years as a user of both systems. I now rarely use Siri, and sometimes I will just to give her another chance only to have her cement my decision to use Google for almost everything. I've also had my iPhone replaced twice by Apple because the first two each had production defects. This third one works great, but the fact that I had to go to Apple twice and each time they stated "we have no idea what's going on so here's a new phone" was really annoying. I do love iMessage, but that's really the only thing I miss about iOS on my Android. I'm not sure I could say Android is completely superior, but I can definitely say that Apple is not. If anything, they are neck and neck.

I'm not anti-Apple at all - I love my iPad and my Apple TV and I'm not unhappy with my iPhone per se - I just don't understand the superior air iPhone users have because it is not a superior product. Anymore, at least. It's like the high school football player still walking around like he's hot shit at age 30 when he's just another Joe with a beer belly, and everyone can see it but him. Delusion runs deep with SOME of these Apple users.

Also, somewhat unrelated, but I have an Amazon Echo and I'm not sure how/where Amazon got their technology, but Alexa is right up there. She's amazing.

Anyhow, my two cents. Back to transit sorry kids.
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Last edited by UTAZLoVer; Dec 15, 2016 at 9:40 PM.
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  #7090  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2016, 5:24 AM
ImaJem ImaJem is offline
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Not sure if any of you are aware, but there's a transit study going on for SR-224 in park city. I found a survey for it.
http://www.parkrecord.com/news/summi...oad-224-study/

I personally think a BRT will be best, but I guess a gondola could be cool.
I think a hyperloop might be a bit ludicrous.
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  #7091  
Old Posted Dec 30, 2016, 2:58 AM
Liberty Wellsian Liberty Wellsian is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaJem View Post
Not sure if any of you are aware, but there's a transit study going on for SR-224 in park city. I found a survey for it.
http://www.parkrecord.com/news/summi...oad-224-study/

I personally think a BRT will be best, but I guess a gondola could be cool.
I think a hyperloop might be a bit ludicrous.
At first glance I think that an on demand service such as a Gondola or PRT would be best with a heated transfer station at Kimball Junction. PC is too cold for people to be willing to wait at an outdoor stop, especially at night.
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  #7092  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2017, 9:23 PM
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i-15 southbound project and another map

So, I got an email reply from my comments to UDOT about the added lane from i-80 to 12300 South. This is what it says:
Quote:
Hi Jeromiah,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your comments regarding the project’s ability to improve congestion as part of the proposed UDOT I-15 Southbound lane additions. I hope that I can provide some context and background regarding the concerns you raised.


Long-term Improvements - UDOT and its transportation planning partners in the region consistently collaborate on transportation studies to ensure wise investments that will keep Utahns moving into 2050 and beyond. Most of the current transportation studies recommend investment in transit as a part of the long-term solution for our area. In fact, this project specifically was studied as a part of one of these collaborative planning efforts. This project will reduce congestion in an area that has experienced significant growth in recent years, but you are correct that it is only one piece of a larger set of solutions (such as transit, active transportation, land-use changes, etc.) to address our long term challenges.


Transit Investments - UDOT is coordinating with UTA on this project and is aware of future transit plans. This project will not preclude FrontRunner expansion.


I hope that this information helps to provide some background information about the issues that you brought to us. All of the issues raised by the public, including those you submitted will be carefully reviewed and considered by the project team. The environmental document will be available for public review and comment in early spring accompanied by a public hearing. In addition, as UDOT’s project-dedicated public involvement team we are always here to address your questions so please don’t hesitate to get back in touch with additional questions at any time at the contact information below.


Best,
Dianne Olson
While its good to know that this won't impact the possibility of a double-tracked FrontRunner, I still question the need for this project. I don't regularly go through this area during rush hour, so I don't know how bad the congestion is, but I have seen it while riding frontrunner.

I got bored last week and made another map, this time for the Provo BRT.
In December I decided to update an old wikipedia article on the brt line and I made a more-or-less geographically accurate map for it.
But last week I adapted my FrontRunner linear map for the BRT line.
I also thought it would be cool if the map showed where the bus is in real time, so I made this animated concept:
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  #7093  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2017, 5:25 PM
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That is an awesome map. I wonder how much it would take to replace the LED screens used on the UTA buses/trains with computer screens capable of displaying maps like yours?
Also cool that UDOT is keeping UTA and FrontRunner in mind.

You do great work, Imajem
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  #7094  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2017, 7:33 PM
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ImaJem, that is a great concept you came up with. If you haven't you should submit that idea to UTA, that would be nice to be able to visually see the progress that was happening while you are waiting. Nice work on that.
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  #7095  
Old Posted Jan 19, 2017, 1:26 AM
ImaJem ImaJem is offline
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Thanks for the feedback! Yes, I did send my map along with the one I uploaded to wikipedia. (link) To make this, I traced the route with google My Maps and then converted the .kml file to something illustrator could read. I tried to do it with only illustrator, but it just made a mess!

It looks like some serious work will start on University Ave in February:
BRT crew prepping businesses for construction on University Avenue

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/loca...970e3d67d.html

Also sounds like the referendum people aren't going to stop! I honestly don't understand why they think they can stop the project this far into it. All of the funding is in place, busses ordered, and construction is underway!
I had a lengthy "rant" in the comments section on a ksl article a while ago, I was getting tired of the general lack of knowledge about the whole thing. I kept reading comments like: "Yippee! I'd love to see UTA parade empty busses up and down provo!" and "This is a conservative state we dont need this!" There's also a myth that we'll lose a lane on university parkway, which is NOT true!

Anyway, I'll stop before I go crazy!
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  #7096  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2017, 8:01 PM
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An understanding that I've reached - in order to help me not go crazy - is to recognize that people believe whatever they want and try to justify it afterwards. We come up with all these terms for it - ignorance, fake news, post-truth- and act like its a new thing that's going to destroy us all; in fact, it is just human nature, it's as old as we are, and its something we've just got to work around instead of fight.

Enough people in Provo are pro-BRT to see the project through, and once it opens I'm confident that once it is open and people actually see what it is, that everyone will want one too.

I attended an engineering conference yesterday where some interesting ideas were thrown around by the speakers to address the capacity issues of the I-15 corridor. Double-decking I-15 so that there could be 15 lanes in each direction was mentioned, but only once. Double-tracking and electrifying FrontRunner was also brought up. UDOT officials present discussed how 'we are all in this together' and that UTA is seen as a partner, not a competitor - easing my fears that UDOT would get in the way of expanding FrontRunner service.

One of the most interesting ideas, imo, and brought up by the Wasatch Front Central Corridor Study no less, was this:

Why not eliminate transit fares and let everyone ride for free? Fares amount to just less than 15% of UTA's income, and that could be made up for with other means.

Compare this to UDOT, which gets between 1/3 and 1/4 of its budget from the gas tax, which is seen as a sort of 'fare' to use public roads.

I have very mixed feelings about this. One the pro-fare side, I feel like if I want quality service I should need to pay something for it. You don't get something for nothing, and I like that the users pay for the service they get. There is a sense of ownership once you've paid for something, and it helps us not take the thing for granted. Also, There is the homeless problem - vagrants would be able to treat the whole UTA system like they currently treat the free-fare zone.

On the 'anti-fare' side, I know that there are 4 public transit systems in Utah, and only two of them require fares. (UTA and SUNTRAN in St George). Cache County and Summit County do not charge fares, and their systems are pretty good. Park City's is actually pretty amazing. Granted, they're not working with nearly as large of ridership or population area as UTA, but if they can offer totally free service, why can't UTA? Also, collecting and enforcing fares is not free. Besides paying for fare inspectors (in addition to the basic Transit Police), UTA needs to pay for the upkeep of all the card readers and ticket machines. This year alone UTA is spending $3.7 million to replace all its card readers with new ones. They only have a $10 million budget for capital improvements this year, meaning 37% of this year's improvements budget will be just to make sure they can more accurately collect fares which amount to ~15% of their total income.
Long and short of this argument: Transit fares are a disincentive to ride transit and many people don't take transit because of the relatively high fares - especially for local trips. In return for dramatically lowering ridership, fares only provide UTA with a small amount of the money it needs to operate. So very little is gained while much is lost.

Now, if this won't spark a debate/discussion, I don't know what will.
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  #7097  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2017, 8:25 PM
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I like this town. I wish you guys could draw lost gamblers going to Vegas to you... They all would end up better off.
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  #7098  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2017, 10:09 PM
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I like this town. I wish you guys could draw lost gamblers going to Vegas to you... They all would end up better off.
I agree.



FrontRunner cars now have the extra WiFi antennas for faster internet. These are the sharp black fins; the round black one is from the original system.
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  #7099  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2017, 10:10 PM
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I also found this way-finding sign at North Temple. I like this. Very friendly and easy to use.



Now, if only the BLACK LINE were on this map, then it would be so much friendlier...
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  #7100  
Old Posted Jan 20, 2017, 11:20 PM
ImaJem ImaJem is offline
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A fare-free UTA would certainly be interesting! I feel similar to you about this.
What I think they could do is have a pass that costs about $20 a month (that covers FR) and also offer a day-pass for $2.50 ($4 incl. FR) and a group pass for $5 ($8 inc. FR). All of these could be purchased from any TRAX or FrontRunner ticket machine or online, apple pay, etc. They could also create a program where schools and businesses can offer month passes for free (instead of the eco pass). Customers who are 65+ or disabled could ride free with a special pass ($10/yr fee, and a note from a GP).
UTA would also need to change their policies for station names and advertising at stations. Businesses could bid for naming rights. Stations could also have an electronic sign (or two) on the platforms showing 4-5 ads. These signs could also be used to show important information about delays, weather, etc. Also, TOD's could be a source of revenue.
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