Paradise cites safety issues, asks UDOT for wider highway

By Cody Littlewood

October 6, 2008 | PARADISE -- How many deaths or accidents does it take for Utah to fund the widening of a road? Cross-country runners from Mountain Crest High School run through Paradise on a state highway. There have already been several accidents on this road due to how narrow it is and its blind spots. No cross-country runners have been involved, but it seems that it is only a matter of time until a runner meets the same fate as several cars already have.

Even with a letter from the City Council the Utah Department of Transportation has a certain formula that they use to determine whether or not to improve a road. The calculation involves the amount of deaths or accidents caused on a certain stretch of road. This appalls the council.

Councilwoman Margaret Obray is writing a formal letter to UDOT to demand that a project is started before any fatal accidents occur.

"We can't wait for a death," said Obray, "we need about 4 more feet of asphalt."

The hope is that the formal request will spur UDOT to expand the road by four feet on either side, or create a bike path. Either way the idea is the same. Expand the road to allow cars to comfortably pass runners or bikers without any danger to the athletes. Obray is going to talk with the teacher over the cross-country program at Mountain Crest to urge the students to run on one side of the road instead of both.

Another approach possible could be the same approach taken by Salt Lake City. The West Side Bicycle is a 24 page study of the west area of Salt Lake City. It studied the need and priority of Bicycle paths, both off-street paths and on street lanes. The prioritized determining whether there are viable alternatives and the danger posed to citizens. The city of Paradise or perhaps the entire county could request a similar study. With the recommendations of the study they could also request funding from the state for UDOT to create the off-street or on street bicycle paths in the high priority areas.

A study like this will also suggest which gaps need to be covered in order to insure regional connectivity. This would help transportation a great deal in a county where bicycle paths have not been created at all. With the rising gas costs, ecological problems, and an environmentally conscious public funding from the state or funds allocated by the county would be greatly appreciated say some citizens.

Taylor Howard, a Logan resident whose main method of transportation is biking, said, "I would love if the county or cities began to create bicycle paths. Cache County drivers are notorious for not respecting bicyclists and their rights."

Other citizens are concerned about whether or not taxes would be increased with funding being allocated by Utah or the county, but it has yet to be determined where the money would come from as of now.

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