SALT LAKE CITY — The omnibus transportation bill is designed to be fail-proof.
But against all odds, Senate Bill 242 failed to pass the House Transportation Committee on a tied 4-4 vote.
"I'm not sure what to make of it at this point," said Julian Jurkoic with Sweet Streets, which was rallying its members against the bill.
The bill covers a lot from road repairs to Frontrunner trains. It is also tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for transportation projects. But two provisions in the bill appear to have generated the most controversy and led to the failed vote, according to its sponsor, Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville.
Tow truck companies objected to a part of the bill that impacted their industry. There was also a lot of pressure from groups who objected to a portion of SB242 that would require Salt Lake City to work more with UDOT on mitigating traffic calming measures within the city. Specifically, lawmakers have complained about the city's new bus and bike lanes.
Opponents of SB242 have called it a state takeover of Salt Lake City's streets.
"It’s like if the federal government came to Utah and said, 'OK Utah, you’re not allowed to have car lanes anywhere, just bike lanes,'" Jurkoic said. "But just in Utah. I think Utahns and Utah politicians would take issue with that as well."
Sen. Harper was confident the concerns would be addressed.
"On Saturday morning, I thought I had an agreement with all the towers. Apparently that was not the case. So I'm going to sit down and chat with them and see what we need to do," he told FOX 13 News. "On Salt Lake City? We don’t remove any of the improvement and the safety features. It’s just a statement saying going forward, let’s involve more people."
Salt Lake City Council member Chris Wharton said they have been speaking with the senator.
"Of course, we would prefer that Salt Lake City maintain control of all of our roads that that remain a local decision," he said. "The state has made it clear they’re interested in a lot of these decisions and we’re going to continue to work together."
SB242 is expected to be brought back quickly for a vote. Sweet Streets said it would continue to rally its members to oppose the bill because of the traffic calming provision.
