Bad Deal...

State officials and environmental groups agreed Wednesday to allow Legacy Parkway to proceed after four years of litigation. I would just like to say thank you Sierra Club and thank you Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance for helping Utah pay $150 million in legal fees and not too mention delays in work helping to drive up the price. Legacy Parkway was $451 million in 2001, but court-ordered delays and additional environmental studies have pushed the total to $689 million.

In an agreement both the Utah Department of Transportation and the Sierra Club called a “win-win” compromise, both sides made concessions to allow the 14-mile road to be constructed along the Great Salt Lake from Farmington to Salt Lake City. Not a win-win. This agreement just jeopardized every possible road building or expansion project in Utah.

The legal agreement, which was signed by Gov. Huntsman, states the road will be a parkway rather than a freeway. This means it will be smaller, the lanes will be narrower and it will allow a speed limit of 55 mph rather than 65 mph as originally planned. Why not put in some traffic lights? Why not make it a toll road with money going directly to the new communist party a.k.a. Sierra Club/SUWA. All in all this is a bad precedent giving into eco terrorists.

According to the agreement, Legacy Parkway will be restricted to four lanes until at least 2020. Semi-tractor trailers will be prohibited from driving on the parkway except during emergencies and I-15 construction. The road will be made with noise reducing pavement and no billboards will be posted. In addition, UDOT agreed to provide $2.5 million for environmental studies on other transit methods, such as light rail options. The Legacy Nature Preserve that surrounds the parkway will also receive an additional 125 acres for preservation of the wetland.

As American’s we long ago made the choice to not negotiate with terrorists but yet in Utah we did.

These same groups want to remove all motorized vehicles from all national parks, national forests. These groups want drain Lake Powell in spite of the fact that it provides electricity and water to most of Southern California. It doesn’t get much cleaner than hydroelectricity folks. These people don’t want anyone to use the wilderness. The motto is no one should use the environment except naked hikers. I strongly disagree. I think that people should be able to hike, bike, swim, canoe and even drive responsibly in our wilderness. There are thousands of trails that don’t need to be protected to the extent of these extreme groups believe. If you don’t believe me check out their websites and the lies and half-truths they promote on their websites. The SUWA is full of scare tactics and anti recreation. I support groups like USA-ALL, Utah 4 wheel Drive Association, The Blue Ribbon Coalition and groups that support multiple use public lands.

The new faces of the Utah Terrorists. Lynn de Freitas, Marc Heileson and Roger Borgenicht of Utah Sierra Club.