| Ball Park UTA Trax light rail station |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A view to the north, taken from the far south end of the platform, highlighting the non-revenue siding and mural painted across from the station |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Station statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Address | 180 West 1300 South Salt Lake City, UT[1] |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Lines |
Utah Transit Authority (UTA): |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections | UTA intra-county and local bus, U Car Share | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure | at-grade | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 set of double tracks and 1 single non-revenue siding |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | 170 free spaces[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | 3 paid lockers[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | December 4, 1999 [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | UTA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||||||||
Ball Park (also known as Ballpark or 1300 South)[1] is an island platformed light rail station in the People's Freeway neighborhood of Salt Lake City, serviced by all three lines of the Trax system. The station was opened in 1999, and is operated by the Utah Transit Authority. It is located northwest of Spring Mobile Ballpark along 1300 South, a major east–west route through Salt Lake City. Three local UTA buses stop at the station, and a dedicated parking space is allocated to U Car Share, a carsharing company located in Salt Lake City.
Contents |
The current station is near the point where the Salt Lake and Utah interurban streetcar line crossed the first mainline built south from Salt Lake City (which has been known by many names, but is most associated with the Union Pacific Railroad). The TRAX tracks north of the station follow the old route of the Salt Lake and Utah, while the tracks south of the area follow those used by Union Pacific. The electrified spur track visible to the northwest of the current station is the northern continuation of the original Union Pacific mainline; only a few traces of the southern continuation of the Salt Lake and Utah line (which headed due southwest to the vicinity of UTA's Redwood Junction station before turning south) remain.
In 1997, when planning for the rebuilt Sandy/Salt Lake line, UTA had envisioned that the area around Ball Park station would go through an urban renewal, with some of the older houses renovated and new multi-family living constructed around the station. However, UTA property manager Richard Swenson admitted that, "I don't think developers have caught the vision yet."[4] The station was part of the original Trax line (now the Blue Line) opened on December 4, 1999.[3] Students from the nearby Horizonte Instruction and Training Center painted a mural along the side of one of the businesses that are located along the west side of the station in 2000, which were frequent targets for graffiti artists. A Salt Lake City official stated that these murals help keep down graffiti because "...the gangs for some reason respect that kind of artwork."[5]
In 2003, Ball Park station had the third highest auto-theft numbers out of all Trax stations, behind Historic Sandy and Sandy Civic Center stations.[6] On October 31, 2006, then-governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. held a press conference at the station to support Proposition 3, which instituted a quarter-cent raise in the state's sales tax in Salt Lake and Utah counties. Proposition 3 included funding for FrontRunner and, at the time, 33 unknown projects in Salt Lake County.[7][8]
The single island platform, capable of serving up to four-car trains,[9] is located on the west side of the 3.2-acre (1.3 ha) property. Two shelters are located on the platform covering small seating areas, with pictures of former Salt Lake Bees players lining the inside canopy.[10] Three UTA local buses serve (and terminate) at Ball Park station: routes 9, 248, and 516. Route 9 serves the University of Utah and 900 South, route 248 serves West Valley City and 4800 West, and route 516 which serves Poplar Grove and Glendale.[11]
A 170-space park and ride lot is located between the tracks and the neighboring Indian Walk-In Center, providing free parking for riders of Trax and the local bus routes servicing the station. This lot was filled to capacity on most nights during the 2002 Winter Olympics due to the high use of Trax and buses by locals and spectators.[12] On August 18, 2009, U Car Share started providing carsharing services with public pick up and drop off stops at several different Trax stations as well as the University of Utah campus.[13] Three secured bicycle lockers are also located on the facility, but must be rented from UTA in advance for an annual fee.[2] Three ticket machines are located on the platform that provide single-ride, round trip, and all day passes, as well as family and discounted fare tickets. The ticket machines are cash-only and provide change in dollar coins and quarters only.[14] Trax ticket machines used to accept UTA fare tokens, which are still accepted on buses, until September 1, 2008, when UTA discontinued their use at Trax machines due to increased token fraud at the ticket machines.[15]
Two driveways from 1300 South allow access to the station by vehicles and buses from the south side of the station as well as the sidewalks on 1300 South and Lucy Lane to the north.[16][17] 1300 South allows direct access to major arterial roads of West Temple Street, Main Street and State Street (U.S. Route 89) to the east, and to 300 West and Interstate 15/80 to the west. There is a sidewalk on the east side of 1300 South that eases pedestrian access to the station as well. Spring Mobile Ballpark, home to the Salt Lake Bees,[18] is located along 1300 South at the corner of West Temple Street, one block from the station.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ball_Park_TRAX_station Ball Park TRAX station] at Wikimedia Commons
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||