How much traffic-related pollution will the Inland Port cause? Fear of facts prevents us from getting an answer.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A rally against the Inland Port at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) may be a mystery to most folks. But it is the powerful entity that is responsible for coordinating transportation planning for a three county region.
The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) is another powerful entity, newly created in 2018. It was charged to create a logistical hub in northwest Salt Lake City, connecting trains, planes and trucks in a central loading and reloading hub, fed by acres of warehouses.
The Stop the Polluting Port Coalition (SPPC), Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment (UPHE) and HEAL Utah have repeatedly asked UIPA for data on the planned increase in traffic at the Inland Port, and for an assessment of the health risks of this activity. UIPA says these studies are not needed.
So Mayor Erin Mendenhall asked the WFRC to conduct such a traffic study. It is the only entity with traffic modelling software.
Quick answer from WFRC: We need data from the Port Authority but they will not provide it.
Eh what? You are building this hugely unpopular superstructure, but have no idea how much traffic will be generated or where? Traffic — the greatest source of carbon emissions? How can Jack Hedge, head of the Inland Port, prove this will be an environmentally-friendly, “green” port, without having data on its traffic plans?
More likely, the WFRC was afraid to ask — and is loath to conduct such a study — afraid of antagonizing Hedge and his powerful legislative allies.
Alice McHugh, Salt Lake City
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