ISSUES

Transportation

1730 North Collector and Grandview Hill 

I have received a number of calls and email regarding UDOT and Provo City's plan for a collector at 1730 North.

Please click here to access the I-15 Corridor EIS website for more information:

On the left-hand side of the home page is an interactive Flash presentation that you can use to view the four options along the Provo/Orem section of I-15 (which include the frontage roads w/ access to 1730 North in Provo).  Also, you can look at the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for more detailed information regarding the study and preliminary design sheets of the area you are interested in.

The official public comment period for the Draft EIS ended on Friday, January 11, 2008; however, UDOT will still welcome any comments the public may have regarding this project.

You may contact Bethany personally if you have additional questions and concerns.

Her contact information is as follows:
Bethany M. Hyatt
Public Involvement Coordinator
(801) 288-3207
hyatt@pbworld.com

Another hot spot in District 61 is Geneva Road.  There are major plans to develop Geneva Road into a functional North/South arterial route that will be sufficient to handle increased traffic due to growth and future I-15 reconstruction.

I continue to be a part of the planning with UDOT and the impacted cities to ensure a wider and more efficient road.

There is also considerable dialogue regarding road and airport development in south west Provo that will become more and more important to residents in that area that are already restricted by fewer route options due to lack of roads or congestion on existing roads.

Geneva Road

Vineyard Connector

I have been involved in public education for 15 years as a tutor, tracker, classroom aide, teacher, and presently as an administrator.  I firmly believe that what we do in education is vitally important to the future of our democracy.

I voted in favor of House Bill 148 which would have allowed for vouchers to assist families of lower income who wished to send their children to private schools. As an educator I felt pressure from some in the public education system to vote against it.  However, I believed and continue to believe that the bill would have taken a step toward giving parents more options for their children’s education without harming the public schools. 

When speaking with voters in our district about the bill, I found that many who initially opposed it did not understand that funding for the bill would have come from the state’s general fund, that public schools would not lose money, and that vouchers would be given based on income.

District 61 narrowly opposed HB 148 in the referendum vote. (Click here to see District 61 Results)The vote suggests that there is growing frustration among voters regarding the responsiveness of public schools to their individual needs. There are many fantastic educators in our ranks.  However, there are teachers that do give the profession a bad reputation.  Giving parents more options regarding the education of their children will help improve the education system.  It will help us as educators be more responsive and less distant.