OREM -- As the city gets more feedback from residents and neighborhoods on a proposed plan for a bus rapid transit route along 800 South and Utah Valley University, the draft plan is undergoing more revisions.

Orem is planning to hold more neighborhood meetings on the proposed 800 South/Utah Valley University Bus Rapid Transit alignment -- part of a Utah Department of Transportation, Utah Transit Authority and Mountainland Association of Governments project to circle the dedicated-lane BRT route around the UVU campus to connect to Orem's future intermodal center west of Interstate 15.

Most recently UDOT removed a flyover at University Parkway and I-15 from its 800 South plan, said Paul Goodrich, Orem's transportation engineer, in a meeting of the city's Transportation Advisory Commission on Tuesday. That alternative has been replaced with a grade separation intersection, or mini-interchange, at University Parkway and Sandhill Road.

The commission has also heard from the Southwest Alliance -- a political action organization of residents in that sector of the city. Goodrich said the alliance has collected petition signatures and requested street closures on 800 South at 800 West, and on 960 South at 400 West be added to the plan.

"Our concern is, that if you close those roads off, all you are going to do is send the traffic to different streets," said Goodrich, who noted that one of the roads likely to be most heavily impacted would be 400 West, in the area of Lakeridge Junior High School. "Historic traffic data also shows that we have reduced the traffic volume on 400 West significantly by improving the grid network street system in the area."

The city wants, as much as possible, to maintain a good transportation grid network system, Goodrich said, where several route options help traffic loads to be better distributed.

The map of the 800 South/UVU BRT alignment distributed at the commission meeting still shows the new road proposed to go north to 700 South from a point at 800 South, and closing 800 South to the west at the UVU campus.

UVU officials favor that plan, and placing roads on the exterior of campus, because of the potential accidents resulting from pedestrian traffic going back and forth across 800 South, according to the commission.

Rachael Bennett, a UVU nursing student who commutes to the school from northwest Orem, attended Tuesday's commission meeting to fulfill a course requirement. She said that despite any freeway off-ramps or road changes, "There's still going to be the pedestrian problem if the students don't slow down."

Goodrich presented an overview of the recent 680 South neighborhood meeting, where the following actions were favored -- having an 800 South alignment to the interchange; buffering the neighborhood with a linear park; erecting a sound wall north of the new road; and not having street closures -- a different position from the Southwest Alliance.

Neighborhood meetings are also being considered for 400 West in the Lakeridge Junior High area, 600 South, 800 South and others.

In an August draft letter to the Orem City Council, members of the commission asked for time to do a complete analysis of where traffic may go with street closures. Once that data is obtained, neighborhood open houses will be scheduled.

"Every neighborhood is going to have different issues," Goodrich said. "The meetings will be smaller, and we will try to really listen to what those issues are, and see if we can find a balanced approach to mitigate the impacts as much as possible."

In the letter, the commission recommended that traffic-calming techniques be considered for streets near the UVU campus, rather than full street closures. The commission also wants the city to ask MAG to re-evaluate the long-range transportation plan to widen 800 South to a five-lane highway from I-15 into Provo.

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