Transportation’s Secret Weapon: Jobs/Housing Balance | | |
Utah is a national leader in building roads, transit, and trails, and innovating in transportation. But as Utah continues to grow, even with those investments and innovations, traffic congestion remains a challenge. Annual hours of delay on Utah freeways rose 135% between 2022 and 2025.
Building transportation capacity and choices is essential. So is optimizing the transportation system through innovation and technology. The third core strategy is to balance the location of jobs and housing.
WFRC’s latest blog explores these three core strategies for a high-performing transportation system: Build. Innovate. Balance. It looks at how balancing the location of jobs and housing would give commuters the option for shorter commutes, reduce pressure on our roads, and improve quality of life.
Read the blog to see what the data tells us, and why where we build matters to how we get around.
| Continue the conversation: Join us for a webinar on December 2 at 11 a.m. to explore how communities and partners can bring jobs and housing closer together. | | Help Shape Tooele Valley’s Transportation Future | | |
How should transportation in Tooele Valley change over the next 30 years? Local leaders, WFRC, UDOT, and UTA invite residents to review and comment on the Draft 2027–2055 Tooele Valley Long-Range Transportation Plan through November 22. The plan identifies future needs and priorities for roads, transit, walking, and biking across the valley.
Join us for an Open House on Thursday, November 12, from 5–7 p.m. at the Tooele County Building Auditorium to learn more, ask questions, and share your input. Visit WFRC News for plan highlights, details on how to comment, and more information about the open house.
| | Coming Together to Keep Utah Moving | | Left to right: Ted Knowlton, WFRC Chief Planner & Deputy Director; Andrew Gruber, WFRC Executive Director; Dawn Ramsey, South Jordan Mayor & WFRC Chair; and Robert Stewart, UDOT Region 2 Director, at the 2026 Utah Transportation Conference, where Mayor Ramsey received the 2026 Utah Transportation Vision Award. | | Congratulations to WFRC Council Chair and South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey, recipient of Utah’s Transportation Vision Award! We’re grateful for her leadership and commitment to bringing people together to advance transportation solutions that improve quality of life across Utah. At the Utah Transportation Conference, over 3000 attendees from the public and private sectors came together to share knowledge about transportation plans, projects, and innovations, and to celebrate the people who keep Utah moving. Thanks to UDOT for organizing the annual conference! | | WFRC Staff at the 2026 Utah League of Cities and Towns Annual Convention | | |
City leaders from all over Utah gathered at the ULCT Annual Convention to work together on the pressing issues for Utah’s municipalities, including housing, economic development, technology, and looking ahead to legislative deliberations. Thanks, ULCT!
We’re grateful for the many partners we connected with at the Utah Transportation Conference and ULCT Annual Convention. From local leaders to the people who build and maintain our roads, transit, and trails, it takes all of us to keep our communities moving and thriving. We’re proud to collaborate, plan, and care alongside you!
| | New Station Area Plans Help Communities Make the Most of Transit | | |
We’re excited to share that WFRC has certified two new Station Area Plans! These plans help communities shape how areas around transit stations grow, with more housing options, mixed-use development, and transportation connections.
In West Jordan, the Jordan Valley and Sugar Factory Road TRAX station plans identify opportunities for new housing, open space, and increased connectivity that fit the local context. Across the region, WFRC and MAG have now certified 103 station area plans (SAP), which collectively plan for 110,000 new homes near transit.
These plans put the Wasatch Choice Vision into action.
Explore the certified station area plans and see what communities are planning on the SAP map.
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| Help Shape UTA’s Long-Range Transit Plan | |
UTA is updating UTA Moves 2055, its 30-year vision for public transportation across the Wasatch Front. WFRC’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) plans for the region’s broader transportation system; UTA Moves 2055 incorporates the RTP and also plans specifically for local bus service and options like UTA On Demand. The plans are closely coordinated to ensure transit priorities align with regional transportation needs.
Share your input by November 30 using UTA’s interactive comment map to help shape the future of transit.
| Connecting Utah, One Trail at a Time | |
The Fall 2026 issue of Rails to Trails magazine features the Utah Trail Network — 2,600 miles of new paved trails across Utah. In the article, Utah transportation officials and elected leaders share their excitement for the trail improvements and the work that goes into making them possible. WFRC Executive Director Andrew Gruber noted that “The Utah Trail Network represents the culmination of effort by many organizations and many community members that started a decade ago.”
It’s a great look at how local and regional planning can contribute to a bigger statewide vision. Check it out.
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Dates to Know
Have something to share with the WFRC community? Contact Johnnae Nardone, WFRC’s Communications Manager.
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