City Council Candidates on Active Transportation – Hobble Creek Bicycle Association

I recently posed four questions to the six candidates for the city council. I have received answers now from four of them. Here are the questions followed by the answers:

Patrick Monney

1. It is estimated that Utah County will add one million new residents by 2065, 85% of which will be from internal growth. How will you prepare Springville to accommodate for that population growth while avoiding the negative effects (congestion, pollution) of suburban sprawl?

I don’t know this answer yet. Still trying to wrap my head around all that this will impact on our communities, not only Springville, but all along the Wasatch Front. (see below)

2. Moving to specific proposals, would you support a city council measure that allocates a specific percentage of our transportation budget to creating and maintaining an interconnected bicycling network in Springville?

Without fully understanding all the costs associated with creating and maintaining an interconnected bicycling network and where specifically as a city we could bring revenues in to support such a network, I’m not able to answer this question. However, I’d support and even find some funding to have a study done by a citizen committee (that worked in conjunction with the transportation and safety departments of the city) that could research out these costs and potential sources of revenue to fund the network.

3. “Complete Streets” is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation. The practical effect of this approach is a safer environment for bicyclists and pedestrians through traffic-calming devices like narrower lanes, bulb-outs, raised crosswalks, multiuse trails, and buffered bike lanes. A more detailed explanation of this along with some examples can be found in the Springville General Plan. Do you support the implementation of a complete streets policy in Springville?

Yes. I would be very interested in this plan, its costs and where the revenue would be generated to support such a plan.

(Here’s another way of framing this question focused specifically on our community’s children: A recent count conducted by the Hobble Creek Bicycle Association found 370 bikes and 193 scooters at our local schools. Another popular biking destination for our city’s youth is the new recreation center. How can we help ensure their safety as they negotiate our busy streets?)

I served for 6 years on the Cherry Creek Elementary Community Council. During that time I spent two years working tirelessly to have a new safe zone created for the students of that school that would allow for them to have walking, bike lanes, cross walks, crossing guards, and stop signs work together to help keep the students who walked or rode to school safe. This was a painful and frustrating experience, which I learned just how convoluted the process is to get government entities to work together (Cherry Creek School Administration, Nebo School Board, Springville Public Safety Department and Springville Streets Department). However, through hard work and perseverance we accomplished the task and now have a safe walking/riding zone for the children at Cherry Creek. I feel I’m qualified to say yes, I’m in favor of supporting and encouraging/driving the council to adopt a safe travel path to get all children (and adults) to their schools, the rec center and other parks and fields and that generally support our work, school, shopping and recreation destinations.

Jeff, I wish I had a crystal ball to see the exact impact this projected growth will have on our city. Then we could make the perfect plan to address the growth. Like you, I’m concerned with where the growth will happen and what it will do to not only our city, but our county. The city has a master plan in place and I am anxious to see where we have addressed the needs for bicycles, and other eco-friendly modes of transportation (including walking and foot powered scooters), and where we can make improvements. I like the idea of Springville having a Bicycle Plan for the community. I know that we have been fortunate to have many wide streets throughout Springville, that has made it possible to turn the “wagon and team turning radius” into car and bike lanes. A road that can be shared. As mentioned above, as a member of the city council I would be strongly in favor of creating and supporting an active committee of citizens who will help drive the planning of future “complete streets” in our community.

NOW THE TRICKY PART. That committee will also have to understand the expense associated with the development and maintenance of such “complete streets” (which if I’m understanding your direction would also incorporate the interconnected bicycling network), and how best to fund that development. Here’s the real clincher. Currently, the majority (if not all) of our money that maintains the streets of Springville comes from the fuel consumption tax. The reality is, any additional striping, barriers, raised crosswalks, etc., costs significant money. Not only do we need to plan out our desired “complete streets” rout results, but also how we will fund them. This is possibly the hardest part of government. How do we pay for everything that citizens want/need and that helps our environment and quality of living. Also, with our weather patterns, we have the additional expenses of snow removal and management on each street. With bulb-outs, and medians to protect a bike lane, these introduce an entirely new set of complicated issues with how to keep them all clean in a expeditious manner following snow storms.

The short answer to your concerns are YES, I’m very much in favor of improved transportation throughout our community. I am committed to making our community as eco-friendly and safe as possible. I’m also a realist and would be misleading you and our citizens if I didn’t let you know that the proposals you are requesting take time, money and changing of attitudes and habits of citizens. With that said, I would appreciate your support and vote. This is what I’m confident I can do for you and our citizens.

Thank you, and please feel free to contact me for further discussion. I’m liking what you and the group are suggesting. Just trying to best understand how we could make this come to fruition.

Jason Miller

Springville is anticipated to realistically hit 50 to 55 k over a similar period when full buildout is reached. The road infrastructure essentially in place and although improvements may be made–it is what it is. With that being said, we are pushing hard to get the 1600 S interchange in place to help divert Mapleton traffic from our city center. We are also pushing UTA very hard to expand bus transit opportunities, especially until Frontrunner is expanded to Springville. Development around that station will be transportation oriented and will keep the newer population, which will largely be located on the west side of town, mobile. To the premise of your email, last mile transportation options will be key.

Absolutely, it will need to reasonable and probably span a couple of years however. I, and I believe the rest of the current Council have been requesting comprehensive plans for this and a trail system. I think both need to be created in a coordinated effort.

Of course I support this policy approach. We have pushed hard for traffic calming measures and recently rejected non-required speed limit increases. There are specific areas of concern I have such as the road between the Ashford and Jaker’s which need immediate attention. I was part of the most recent general plan update and I think these are important guiding principles.

4. The Springville planning department is about to create a new Bicycle Plan for Springville. Where specifically in Springville do you think additional bicycle infrastructure (lanes, trails, parking) would improve the quality of life for the citizens of Springville? (Here’s another way of framing this question focused specifically on our community’s children: A recent count conducted by the Hobble Creek Bicycle Association found 370 bikes and 193 scooters at our local schools. Another popular biking destination for our city’s youth is the new recreation center. How can we help ensure their safety as they negotiate our busy streets?

This is a more difficult issue as the City is constrained by its current layout. In my neighborhood, and I’m guessing across town, there are serious safety issues with kids on bikes and scooters. Education fir both kids and adults is needed. Our police department has been proactive with outreach on many fronts. This would be another good basis for the department to communicate with the community. As far as creating lanes and developing an interconnected plan, I am in absolute support. I just need to be educated on the best approach. As you know, Mike Snelson is a huge proponent of bike infrastructure and I have been 100% supportive of everything he has introduced. Kurt Boucher has also been proactive, and I appreciate their efforts to improve the City. We also recently supported a start to electric scooters being introduced. Education is key with scooters as well to ensure we don’t create new safety issues with scooters competing for limited sidewalk space. The great news is, adding bike lanes where possible on existing streets is not cost prohibitive, so I believe we can continue to act quickly and get the routes and place as plans develop.

Craig Conover

I am already involved with the Valley Visioning project and sit on the steering committee that was formed through he Association of Utah County Chambers.I am very much in favor of road planning that involves some type of a county wide grid that will help keep congestion to a minimum. Springville will always be a choke point for North to South traffic as right now there are really only 2 ways to get through our community. We will need to keep plans that involve other arterial roads going North/South as our community builds out. In the past on the council I have helped to create open space and trails in the city and will continue to do so if elected, it is about keeping the quality of life for everyone in Sprngville and the county great, with reason to stay and enjoy the great atmosphere we have to offer.

Yes I would support such a measure and have always in the past wanted to include trails and other transportation options when planning was involved.

I feel this is a great idea, working in Provo as you do I have watched as that community has implemented some of these measures and feel that they have really helped with both pedestrian traffic and traffic calming.

This is a much larger question and will involve planning and good look at our corridors and streets to make sure they are bicycle/pedestrian friendly. I am currently building a new home on the west side of town and there are many problems with lack of sidewalks in particular at this time where farm land and development intersect. I am completely in favor of making sure that there are safe routes for our kids and others. Being no expert on where to put infrastructure such as this it is hard to give you a complete street by street answer but I would be more than happy to look at ideas and push them forward. One thing you should know about me is that I will work hard to make things happen and push them forward. A good example of this would be the new railroad crossing on 950 West at about 1450 South, I was told there were so many regulations that it would take years to make this happen, it did take me a couple of years but I finally found a gentlemen in a meeting I attended on transportation that was a PR rep for Union Pacific and he was able to help me navigate the waters and get the crossing in, and not for the original $1 million price tag bot for around $45,000, so persistence does pay off.

Liz Crandall

Thank you so much for your thoughtful questions. The reason I am running for city council is to be involved in the planning of this predicted growth. Although I do not have all of the answers I am ready to research, learn, ask questions, and listen to all points of view. Right now I am halfway through, “The Walkable City”, by Jeff Speck. It was recommended to me by a young man that came to a recent city council meeting. It is very interesting and offers an experienced perspective on suburban sprawl.

I was able to spend a few days in Park City this summer and enjoyed walking some of the many trails they have in their city. I also asked some questions and found out that the city had bought property years earlier for some of them and others were funded by a local foundation, “Park City and the surrounding area boast over 7000 acres of preserved open space, which serves as the canvas for more than 350 miles of recreational trails. These trails are made possible through the efforts and collaboration of Park City Municipal Corporation, Snyderville Basin Recreation, the Mountain Trails Foundation and local resorts.” info. from parkcity.org. The reason I mention Park City is that it opened my eyes and mind to some possibilities and ways to fund them in Springville. So yes I would be very interested in an interconnected bicycling network in Springville and have been around town exploring possibilities.

I do think additional bicycling and walking infrastructure would enhance the quality of life for all of us. I would like to see more accountability from Nebo School District to provide infrastructure for safe bicycle and walking routes to our schools. ( I think that has to be taken up with the State School Board). I did discuss this with Troy Fitzgerald, our city administrator, when I was asking about the lack of a sidewalk from 4th south and 950 west as children are trying to get to Westside School. Troy did say he would like Nebo to be involved as well but did not see that happening.

I hope that you can see that I have been observing and asking questions on this subject but I do need more understanding than I have right now. I do not have a specific plan. Committees are being formed now as, Josh Yost, our new city Community Development Director is asking for interested residents to become involved in the process. I am confident that as citizens and city council members work together we can come up with a forward thinking plan that can work for all of us.

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