Why Should
Utah TravelWise?

The wellbeing of whole communities is elevated when many individuals choose to TravelWise and experience the benefits, including better health and more social connections. Communities built for active living, like walking, biking, and rolling, have neighborhoods that feel more alive with better travel options for everyone, including younger kids and teens, seniors, and persons with disabilities (PWD).

Quality of Life for all

Better
Mobility

Good
Health

Connected
Communities

Strong
Economy

TravelWise initiatives, devoted to boosting Utahns’ quality of life, align with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) strategic direction to “enhance quality of life through transportation.” This quality of life framework leads to expanded opportunities for all users of the transportation system in Utah’s diverse communities through better mobility, good health, connected communities, and a strong economy.

Collaboration Opportunities

The TravelWise program collaborates with a variety of organizations to serve all users of the transportation system and to ensure Utahns have the option to get where they want to go comfortably and safely and to embrace active living. When WE work together to bring TravelWise opportunities to everyone, wellbeing and quality of life are boosted for all Utahns. TravelWise collaboration comes in many forms–from strategic partnerships focused on elevating the voices of all people to funding pursuits to sharing research and resources.

A sampling of collaboration success stories are detailed below. Each enhances Utahns’ quality of life in unique ways, as noted by the icons under each story title. Some of the collaboration examples are past project successes, others are ongoing efforts with potential quality of life benefits, and a few are in the beginning stages with favorable outcomes yet to be fully realized.

TravelWise is always looking for more collaboration opportunities. If your community or organization is interested in collaborating, click here.

Strategic Partnerships to Elevate the Voices of All People

Murray Adult Transition Program

The Murray Adult Transition Program, or MAT, helps young adults between the ages of 18 and 22 with intellectual and developmental disabilities transition from school to adult life. Participants develop the skills and knowledge they need to live independently, gain competitive paid employment, access their communities, and achieve individual goals. This often requires travel to community venues or job locations. MAT participants walk or ride public transit to these sites, which can be challenging due to missing or obstructed sidewalks, distracted drivers, lack of snow and ice removal, long waits for bus service, and inadequate seating on buses for those with disabilities. TravelWise is partnering with the MAT Program and exploring opportunities to amplify their voices, further understand their perspectives, and help address and mitigate their transportation challenges. In the future, MAT participants will collaborate with the UDOT Move Utah and TravelWise programs, helping UDOT identify the best ways to serve all users of the transportation system. Specifically, the MAT Program will participate in various Pedestrian Safety and All Users events and join transportation decision-making committees.

Quality of Life Impacts

Identifying Sidewalk Accessibility Challenges

All Utahns should experience a safe, comfortable, efficient, and accessible transportation system. For nondrivers who must walk, bike, or roll to their destinations, this requires safe and accessible sidewalks. Some nondrivers also choose to ride public transit, and sidewalk access to bus stops and train stations is critical. Unfortunately, many Utah communities do not have quality sidewalks, and, in fact, some do not have sidewalks at all. This results in difficult and dangerous situations for many Utahns, especially PWD. TravelWise collaborates with a variety of partners to identify areas where sidewalks or sidewalk upgrades are needed, especially where they are critical for transit access. The ultimate goal is to expand and improve sidewalk access statewide.

Quality of Life Impacts

Advancing Installation of Motion-Sensored Crosswalks

Nondrivers often rely on Utah’s sidewalks and public transit services to travel from place to place. For PWD, these journeys can be particularly difficult. Imagine approaching an intersection and wanting to cross the street but being unable to push the crosswalk button due to the nature of your disability. This is the reality for some of our friends and neighbors. The good news is that help is on the way. A new technology enables motion-sensored crosswalks. This technology has been a game-changer for Lance Richards, a Utah resident and quadriplegic. Instead of pushing a button, now the crossing signal senses when Lance is approaching in his wheelchair and the crosswalk changes to allow him to cross the street. TravelWise is committed to spreading awareness of new technologies that can help all users of the transportation system get where they want to go safely, comfortably, and efficiently.

Quality of Life Impacts

Nonprofit Get Healthy Utah

Get Healthy Utah is a nonprofit working to improve active living, mental wellbeing, and healthy eating in Utah. TravelWise collaborates with Get Healthy Utah to promote and enable healthy lifestyles and places throughout the state. TravelWise team members serve as mentors to local jurisdictions, training cities and towns to assess and improve overall community wellness. Communities doing an exemplary job of implementing strategies to improve community health are formally recognized with the “Healthy Utah Community” designation. TravelWise also collaborates directly with some “Healthy Utah Communities,” like Ephraim, Santaquin, and West Valley City. In West Valley City, TravelWise led an audit of pedestrian and bicycle access to Decker Lake park and trail. TravelWise worked with Ephraim to develop a trail concept and to update the area’s Active Transportation network. TravelWise continues to seek additional opportunities to collaborate with Get Healthy Utah, such as contributing to their policy committees with focus on active living and supporting the unique 2024 Connected Communities Summit, which Get Healthy Utah co-hosted with Bike Utah and Move Utah to promote further integration of health and transportation practices that build an active and healthy state.

Quality of Life Impacts

Kearns Mobility Hub

TravelWise collaborated with Kearns leaders, residents, Utah Transit Authority, and the US Department of Transportation to fund, plan, and build the Kearns Mobility Hub. Members of the Kearns Youth Council were also important collaborators and helped design the Hub and ensure a feeling of local ownership. It’s now an aesthetically pleasing gathering place for making social connections while walking, biking, and rolling to and from public bus service right next to the Kearns Library. With better transportation access and convenience, Kearns residents can more readily connect with others–those within their community and those beyond.

Quality of Life Impacts

Walking, Biking, and Rolling to Transit

It takes strong and sustained collaboration to pinpoint transportation improvement projects that will significantly boost mobility, have a lasting impact, and improve individual and community health. Ensuring safe, comfortable, and convenient walking, biking, and rolling access from point A to public transit and then from public transit on to a final destination, also known as First/Last Mile (FLM) connections, is one type of project that can significantly boost mobility, especially for persons with disabilities (PWD), the elderly, and kids. In 2023, the UDOT Planning Division TravelWise Program led a collaboration between UDOT, Utah Transit Authority, Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG), and nine cities to apply for and secure nearly $25 million in federal grants for First/Last Mile connections to 10 light rail stations and 13 bus stops in historically disadvantaged communities. The “First/Last Mile Connections: Improving Communities’ Quality of Life Through Access to Opportunities and Healthy Transportation Connections” project will begin engineering in 2025 and be completed by 2029.

Quality of Life Impacts

Employer Initiatives

TravelWise, along with UCAIR and the Salt Lake Chamber, collaborated for many years with businesses to encourage alternatives to single-vehicle travel commutes through the statewide Clear the Air Challenge (CTAC). Employees were encouraged to TravelWise, saving more than 1.3 million trips, over 20 million travel miles, more than 6,700 tons of emissions, and $8.5 million. As workplace conditions evolved, employers were invited to host their own air quality-supporting programs and use ideas from past CTAC efforts for inspiration. Utahns will continue to save time and money and realize a variety of health benefits as businesses enable and encourage employees to TravelWise more often and in more ways.

Quality of Life Impacts

Funding Pursuits

Grant Applications

The TravelWise program collaborates with communities and organizations throughout Utah to identify and pursue grants that will improve mobility, which, in turn, boosts the overall wellbeing of individuals and communities. These include federal government grant opportunities, like the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP), Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), Safe Street and Roads for All (SS4A), Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN), and the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning Program.

Quality of Life Impacts

Sharing Research & Resources

Utah State University’s Utah Wellbeing Project

The Utah Wellbeing Project, a Utah State University program, tracks local perspectives on wellbeing through annual community surveys statewide. Survey results are used to guide sound planning and decision making that support overall quality of life in Utah's cities and towns. As one of the Project’s collaborative partners, the TravelWise team helped integrate transportation questions into the 2024 survey and continue to assist with analyzing how transportation impacts the overall wellness of communities. Areas where communities can improve wellbeing through better transportation safety, comfort, convenience, and access will also be identified.

Quality of Life Impacts

UTRAC Research Projects

UTRAC is a federally funded annual research project. Professionals from UDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies, universities, and the private sector come together to solve transportation challenges. A UTRAC (2023-2024) ongoing project examines how transportation planning processes intentionally incorporate community mental health and wellbeing into decision making. This deep dive into quality of life and wellbeing as outcomes of good transportation infrastructure projects is designed to bring these quality of life and wellbeing ideas to the forefront of the planning and decision-making process. The desired result will be educating planners and other citizen stakeholders about the benefits of these outcomes and encouraging conversation and behavior change for greater wellbeing throughout the transportation planning process.

Quality of Life Impacts

Utah Healthy Places Index

The Utah Health Places Index (Utah HPI), an information resource platform offered by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (UDHHS), maps data on social conditions that drive health and life expectancy, like access to parks, education, job opportunities, and much more. TravelWise collaborates with UDHHS to ensure the Utah HPI informs and inspires wise transportation policies that result in opportunities to fund better travel options, build healthier communities, and secure longer life expectancy for all Utahns. Over time, the Utah HPI will quantify these meaningful improvements to community wellbeing alongside future opportunities for betterment.

Quality of Life Impacts

Pedestrian Data (PEDAT) Portal

Walking, biking, and rolling are increasingly popular travel choices in Utah. They offer a variety of benefits, including exercise opportunities, exposure to the outdoors, and more transportation options for connecting with others. Accurate pedestrian data plays an increasingly important role in comprehensive, efficient transportation planning and construction, including for the Utah Trail Network. That’s why the TravelWise team collaborated with other UDOT programs to create PEDAT, an information portal focused on pedestrian data sharing. PEDAT ensures that transportation planning is supported by good data, that those who choose to walk, bike, and roll are better served, and that public funds used for transportation investments are wisely spent where they are most needed.

Quality of Life Impacts

Utah Health Improvement Plan (UHIP)

The Utah Health Improvement Plan (UHIP) is a collaborative statewide initiative designed to tackle key health concerns prioritized by various stakeholders and agencies deeply invested in the wellbeing of Utahns. This Plan underscores a unified commitment to achieve optimal mental, physical, and economic health. Participating as an active partner with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (UDHHS) UHIP team, TravelWise is helping to identify and include transportation ideas, plans, and best practices that ultimately build connectedness and improve health access. The TravelWise team works with all four of the UHIP subcommittees–Youth, Low Income Populations, Individuals with Disabilities, and Deepening Our Knowledge–to help set priorities that increase mental, physical, and economic health protective factors.