County council members on Wednesday briefly talked with county manager Tom Fisher about the parking lot that UDOT is developing for big-rigs in lower Silver Creek.
The state presented it as a chain-up spot for the trucks, but council member Kim Carson, herself a resident of Silver Creek, thinks it’s morphing into a something more.
Carson told KPCW there are plans for the lot to be a rest area.
“Apparently UDOT is being pressured by the federal transit administration to create more areas where truckers can park and get rest. The state of Utah apparently is lacking in them. So, they saw this as a great area to do that. With the Woodside homes built in the bottom of the neighborhood and potential for increased commercial down there. We have a real concern about drawing trucks to the area.”
She said there are safety concerns and other issues.
“It’s only less than half-a-mile maybe even a quarter mile from the bus stops. There’s been crime activity that’s taken place there. They say that with their changes it’ll approve conditions. Air pollution is a concern with trucks idling, they said well you’re free to put up your idling signs, but then who’s going to enforce that? Are you going to go around and knock on truck doors all night long telling them to turn off their engines in the middle-of-the-winter when they think it’s an established rest area?
Carson said the crime includes some illegal business being conducted out of campers.
She said they will continue to talk with UDOT.
“Our request to them was that, we do understand the need for an emergency chain-up area with Parleys. We want that to be a safe traveling corridor. However, we don’t want long-term nightly impacts. There’s been easily between 40 and 60 trucks, parked at the bottom of Silver Creek on any given night, not only in the winter but also in the summer.”
