Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
Dealing with Utah’s Growth ranked tenth on Utah Foundation’s 2008 Utah Priorities Project Survey. Four growth-related issues in the survey showed high levels of concern. The top issues were traffic congestion, crowding in public schools, water supply concerns, and changes in crime rates. This research brief provides information on how Utah’s population growth has and will affect these four and other issues.
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
Rising gas prices, heavy road congestion, and the desire for more efficient transportation options have made transportation an increasingly important issue for Utah voters. Transportation ranked 9th in the 2008 Utah Priorities Survey; in 2004 it was the 11th ranked issue. Among the top concerns in this area were commute and travel times, the quality of Utah’s roads, the development of public transit options, and expanding the capacity of freeways and highways. This research brief … Continued
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
Since 1991, Utah state government spending has generally grown slower than Utah’s economy, except for brief “bumps” during economic booms. Through most of this period, health spending and transportation capital spending grew faster than the economy, while all other categories, including public education (the largest state spending area) declined in terms of spending per $1,000 of personal income. The most recent two fiscal years, however, brought large increases in state spending, mostly focused in public … Continued
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
How much energy do Utahns consume? How has it changed over time? Where does Utah’s energy come from? What can Utahns can expect for energy prices and supplies in the future? The Utah Priorities Survey ranked energy, including gas prices, as the number one issue of concern for Utahns this year. This report provides data and graphs to illustrate Utah’s current energy situation and trends, and makes these findings:
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
Throughout this election year, Utah Foundation will work to provide information, analysis, and public dialogue on the issues that matter most to you as you consider the future of Utah. The project began with a survey conducted by Dan Jones and Associates to understand which issues are of greatest concern to voters. The results of this survey are now available here by clicking the links below. The survey found that the top 10 issues for … Continued
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
Utah Foundation performed the research for the Community Assessment released in April 2007 by the United Way of Salt Lake. This project involved four research phases:
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
This report analyzes the effects of proposed property or sales tax increases for transit improvements in Salt Lake County. The report was commissioned by the Salt Lake Chamber to help it understand the impacts each tax would have on household and business taxpayers with additional analysis on the policy and political implications of each tax option.
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
Utah, especially along the Wasatch Front, is facing a transportation crisis. Among the components of the crisis are a growing population, constrained geography, limited funding, and highway capacity moving toward increased congestion. This summary provides a snapshot of funding alternatives that could be employed to fill the projected funding gap, which may be as large as $23 billion over the next 25 years.
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
The rapid population growth that occurred in Utah during the 1990s is still expected to continue for the next thirty years. The challenges presented by the significant growth underlie many of the other top issues facing this state. Education, jobs, water supply, health care, crime, higher education, environment, and transportation are all greatly impacted by population growth. This brief will seek to explain how growth patterns will impact some of the top issues identified by … Continued
Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes
The quality of Utah’s air was in the news a great deal during the last winter. Prolonged inversions along the Wasatch Front, coupled with concerns and miscalculations of air quality in the Cache Valley raised voters’ awareness of the issue. So how bad is Utah’s air? The answer depends quite a bit on which measure of air quality is being used. Those measures are tied to the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) … Continued