Utah State House Representative Brett Garner on January 23, 2024, Writes and Sends Me a Friendly Reply Letter

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: "Brett Garner" <bgarner@le.utah.gov>

To: "John McMillan" <mcmillanj@att.net>

Sent: Tue, Jan 23, 2024 at 1:34 PM

Subject: Re: Is State of UT Doing Enough to Help Pedestrians?

Dear Mr. McMillan,

Thank you for reaching out to me about HB78.  I apologize I was unable to attend the Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee on January 23, due to presenting a bill I am sponsoring in another committee at the same time.  I will be voting for HB78 if it reaches the House floor.

I do support our film industry in Utah, but I want to ensure that we are not engaged in a race to the bottom with other states and countries providing incentives.  I am satisified that this bill does allow for safeguarding against that.

If you reside in House District 31, please sign up for my newsletter at the link below.

If you have any questions about this or any other issue, please let me know.

From: John McMillan <mcmillanj@att.net>

Sent: Monday, January 22, 2024 11:49 PM

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Subject: Is State of UT Doing Enough to Help Pedestrians?

 

January 22, 2024

Dear Utah State House Majority Leader Mike Schultz,

As a gainfully employed single adult  gentleman and proud-to-be-here new permanent resident of  Utah, I am  grateful for  your November 27, 2023 (correction by me on cited date),  reply letter to me. Your friendly letter  invited me to write and send you additional concerns of mine about our great state of Utah.

Today inside my solo-occupancy fully bolt-locked and fully locked  studio rental apartment unit in our state-capital city,  I called the main telephone number for the Utah Department of Transportation state agency.

I then asked the female staff member who answered the phone to please connect me with the "Pedestrian Rights Advocate" employed by that State of Utah agency.

The Utah Department of Transportation staff member indicated  that she did not know of any person holding that job title at her state agency.  She added that the "safety department"  of her state agency was apparently the most applicable unit for her to transfer my call to.

After my call was transferred by herself, I was disappointed to note that I was then greeted by a recorded message from an apparent  member of the "Safety Department".

House Majority Leader Schultz,  I mention all of this because it was very apparent to me today that the State Government of Utah currently does not assign high enough priority to the full range of Pedestrian Rights issues.

Those issues include aggressive  motorists exceeding the speed limit on the roadway,  would-be muggers and thieves and Homeless Persons begging for money or cigarettes outdoors  on public  sidewalks,  pedestrians outdoors having a rage-filled verbal conflict with each other, outdoor pedestrians making obscene gestures at other pedestrians on the outdoor platform of a UTA train stop,  pedestrians outdoors who are not dressed warmly enough and are shivering  on a cold winter day, pedestrians lying on or sleeping outdoors very close to a public sidewalk, pedestrians drinking alcohol or being allegedly "publicly intoxicated" outdoors on Utah Transit Authority  platforms at UTA train stations,  pedestrians outdoors who appear to be under the influence of an illicit drug or possible opioids,  physically agitated and apparently violence-prone pedestrians on outdoor public  sidewalks,    profanity perpetrators, continuous  outdoor noise pollution, and Cigarette Smoke and Vaping Vapors inflicted on pedestrians outdoors by other pedestrians.

 The Pedestrian issues here  in Utah also include the total combined number of miles  of all public sidewalks provided to pedestrians in Utah, the current  absence of any public sidewalk along the  roadway in many blocks of residential neighborhoods here in Utah,  the issue of whether public sidewalks are consistently provided on BOTH sides of roadways here in Utah, the width of public sidewalks and whether that width should be increased to accommodate joggers, runners, scooter riders (if applicable),  roller skaters, skateboarders, electric bike riders (if applicable),  and  bicyclists (if applicable), as well as pedestrians here in Utah, and whether there should be a physical barrier between pedestrian traffic and scooter riders, for instance, that protects the safety of pedestrians.

House Majority Leader Schultz, I also discovered today through online research at the Utah State House of Representatives  official website that no committee or subcommittee of your state governing body contains the word "Pedestrian" in that committee's or subcommittee's official name.

I did today  find online  one joint Utah House and Utah Senate committee, the  "Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee 2024". However,  none of that joint committee's cited topic areas directly referred to the significant environmental benefit to Utah and Utahns  that non-polluting and non-smoking Pedestrians provide on a year-round basis.

 

House Majority Leader Schultz, I would like to cite to you  the high priority to Pedestrians and Pedestrian Traffic Issues that one local  government agency   in California has established.

Below is a directly quoted and  copyrighted  statement from that government agency's official website address of 

https://www.sfmta.com/about-sfmta :

"The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco responsible for the management of all ground transportation in the city. The SFMTA has oversight over the Municipal Railway (Muni) public transit, as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis. We serve San Francisco by creating transportation options that are constant, practical and everywhere; we connect people with their community to enhance the economy, environment and quality of life. We operate today's transportation system and work with our partners to plan the transportation system of tomorrow."

It might be very helpful to Utah and Utahns if citywide and countywide or multi-county or statewide transportation agencies with similar goals, including long-term planning goals,  could be established here in Utah.

Utah House Majority Leader Schultz, I would also like to raise the question of whether each of the cities of  Utah have been as  thorough as the municipal government for Salt Lake City has reportedly been at addressing Pedestrian Issues. Below is an online link to a 2023-dated and copyrighted local CBS-affiliate KUTV Channel 2 news report:

https://kutv.com/news/2news-investigates/salt-lake-city-adds-more-safety-measures-to-roads-in-effort-of-zero-traffic-deaths-by-2035-vision-zero-network-utah-zero-pedestrian-cyclist-death-sign-design

More information about the recent promotion of  "Leading Pedestrian Interval" safety features at street intersections throughout the USA  is provided by the following website of the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.:

https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures/leading-pedestrian-interval

Finally, House Majority Leader Schultz, I would like to share with you the following copyrighted  online link to a recent  official authoritative report from the U.S. Department of Transportation:

https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesPedestrians.aspx

That report states that in 2021 the state of Utah had a higher Pedestrian Fatality Rate than our neighboring state of  Idaho and eight other respective states of the USA.

The states with lower Pedestrian Fatality Rates than Utah in 2021 were: Vermont,  Idaho, Massachusetts, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and the  lowest pedestrian fatality-rate state of  New Hampshire, according to that online report.

Utah State House Majority Leader Schultz, I hope this brainstorming letter proves to be helpful to you and your colleagues in the Utah State House.

Sincerely and Best Wishes,

"Progressive Prohibitionist Religion" (a one-member-only, non-proselytizing, factually focused, quality of life-minded, alcohol-free, tobacco-free, facially cleanshaven-lifestyles, tattoo-less, politely non-Christian religion I pursue during my leisuretime) founder John Kevin McMillan, 535 South 200 East, Apt. 912, Ninth Floor,  Salt Lake City, UT 84111.

My cell phone number: (512) 993-7305.

My home phone: (801) 355-0850.

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