UDOT changing Layton Main St. plan

LAYTON (Deseret News) — Business owners on Layton's Main Street may get to keep some of their parking after all.

The Utah Department of Transportation has agreed to redesign a new interchange in southern Layton that would have eliminated some of the business parking on Main Street.

Business owners were preparing to protest the part of the project involving widening of Main Street near Gentile Street just as UDOT was getting ready to break ground on the $97 million project. The owners feared they would lose business because the plan would have widened Main Street and done away with parking they felt is critical to get customers in their doors.

So they formed the Downtown Layton Property Group to stay involved in the construction process and to try to convince UDOT to scale back its plans for widening Main Street.

During an Aug. 25 meeting, owners pointed out to UDOT's contractor how a wider Main Street would be detrimental to their businesses, said Cornelius Delight, one of the property owners.

"People were very concerned about losing that parking," said UDOT spokesman Vic Saunders. "(Our contractor) is trying to come up with a compromise that will give the businesses more parking space and retain the functionality of roadway on Main Street."

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