WOODS CROSS -- Residents here are pleased commuter rail is finally coming, but they also have issues they want answers to before the rail line is built. The Woods Cross City multipurpose room was packed here last Thursday for a UTA open house on the proposed commuter rail station. The station, one of four planned for Davis County, will be located south of 500 South and west of 800 West. It will sit on approximately 10 acres bounded by 800 West to the east, the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to the west and approximately 1000 South to the south. UTA projects 479 parking spaces when the rail line opens in 2008, with 780 spaces planned by 2030, according to UTA commuter rail project manager Steve Meyer.

Access to the station would be from 500 South, which intersects I-15 at the interchange to the east. To accommodate the rail crossing, a portion of 800 West will be closed next spring.

That was a concern for many residents who feared that the commuter rail station would only bring more traffic to an already overloaded 500 South, making it difficult for west-side residents to get around.

They expressed concern also over the temporary closing of 500 South, as work is done on the commuter rail tracks.

Clayton Gililad, construction manager for Commuter Rail Constructors, said currently he cannot say how long 500 South may be closed while track work is completed. "We can install track in 60 hours working around the clock," he said.

"However, some neighborhoods don't like the noise going on all night, so they'd prefer for us to do it during the day, and take a little longer doing it," he said.

Other residents questioned if the Utah Department of Transpor-tation is going to install an overpass or underpass on 500 South leading to the Legacy Parkway.

Meyer explained that UDOT hasn't finalized those plans yet, but said UDOT's decision won't affect what UTA does.

One woman asked why UTA didn't postpone its work on commuter rail through Woods Cross until UDOT does its work on 500 South.

Meyer explained it boils down to the fact UTA had the funding and opportunity to proceed with commuter rail prior to UDOT having the funding for its project.

Residents were also concerned with the number of trains -- 58 -- expected to use the commuter rail tracks weekdays, in addition to the 35-40 freight trains using the UP tracks. They worried about the amount of time the crossing arms would be down, the noise from whistles and train vibration.

Meyer said while the crossing arms would be going down more often, the average length of time they would remain down is only a minute or a minute and a half.

As to the whistle noise, Meyer said they are working for a "quiet zone." He said that since horns are a safety feature, and since more safety features are being planned for crossings, it will mean engineers won't have to honk as often.

And, as to vibration, the trains have less mass than freight trains, and people are a lighter load to carry, consequently, "we've determined there's very little vibration".

For those with questions about commuter rail, UTA has a Web site, www.rideuta.com. There's also a hotline at 1-877-UTA-Rail (882-7245).

mwilliams@davisclipper.com