This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Utah Transit Authority has scheduled a public hearing Tuesday evening on a planned express bus route between Murray city and the Taylorsville campus of Salt Lake Community College.

UTA has completed a draft environmental-study report on the $33 million project — a 4.4-mile route that would include 1 ½ miles of dedicated bus lane in the center of 4700 South, replacing the existing median and eight stations.

The environmental study concluded that there would be no significant environmental impact.

The hearing, scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the SLCC Student Center, Student Events Room, 4600 S. Redwood Road, will include representatives from UTA, SLCC, Taylorsville and Murray, Salt Lake County and the Wasatch Front Regional Council.

Public comment will be accepted by email or letter through June 4.

Patti Garver, a UTA administrator assigned to the project, said the agency doesn't anticipate opposition to the proposal.

Target date for completion of the route, the second bus rapid transit route in Utah — with dedicated lanes on part of the route and limited stops — is early 2016, dependent on available funding. The only existing bus rapid transit route is on 3500 South between the Millcreek TRAX Station and Magna, with a dedicated bus lane for about one mile in West Valley City.

"Right now we don't have the funding identified," Garver said, except for about $4 million in initial money provide by the Legislature and likely to be used on design and land acquisition.

The planned Murray-Taylorsville bus rapid transit would originate north of the Intermountain Medical Center, connect with the TRAX and FrontRunner Murray Central Station, and on to SLCC. In its first year it would carry about 2,200 passengers daily — mostly students — up from between 360 and 1,200 using the current bus service connecting Murray and the community college, according to UTA. The agency estimates 4,600 riders daily by 2040. —

Written public comment

UTA will accept written comments through June 4.

Email hearingofficer@rideuta.com or mail to Taylorsville-Murray Transit Project, Attn: Hearing Officer, Utah Transit Authority, 669 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84101