BYU NewsNet - UTA Encourages Funeral Goers to Take Trax

The Utah Transit Authority is uring those planning to attend President Gordon B. Hinckley's viewing and/or funeral to ride TRAX to the Salt Lake events to ease parking difficulties and decrease the likelihood of accidents as a new storm is expected.

To accommodate the crowds heading downtown, UTA will increase the number of cars on each TRAX light rail train all day Friday, during the second day of the viewing. On Saturday, along with regular service, two additional trains will run during peak ridership before and after the funeral, according to the news release.

The closest TRAX station to the Provo area is the 10000 South Sandy Civic Center Station located at 9800 South and 115 East in Sandy. Provo students and residents can drive to the Sandy TRAX station, park, and then jump on a train that will take them directly to Temple Square.

There are parking lots at almost every TRAX station along the Sandy/Salt Lake route, and taking advantage of them will be much easier than trying to find parking downtown and, not to mention, less expensive. A single round trip ticket on TRAX will only set you back $3.50, while the price of gas is nearly equal that per gallon and paying for parking in Salt Lake can cost anywhere from $5 to $20.

For those opting to drive to the viewing and/or funeral, a news release from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recommends that you park at the Triad Center Garage (50 N. 400 West), Eagle Gate Terrace (145 E. Social Hall Avenue), Regent Street (65 E. 200 South) or the EnergySolutions Arena (70 N. 300 West).

The LDS Church's news release also advised that attendees should avoid parking in front of homes in downtown residential areas as their cars may be ticketed or towed at the owner's expense. In addition the church wanted viewing/funeral goers to know that no parking will be available at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building parking plaza, the Church Office Building, or the Conference Center.

The viewing will be at the Conference Center (60 W. North Temple) from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and seating passes for the funeral will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to those standing in line at the north gate of Temple Square at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

For those who are able to get tickets, you must be in your seat no later than 10:15 a.m. The funeral, itself, will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, and overflow seating, which also requires a ticket, will be available in the Tabernacle and Assembly Hall on Temple Square, the Conference Center Little Theater and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Directly following President Hinckley's funeral services, which is expected to last one to two hours, a group known only as "Cane Wave Tribute" is asking members of the LDS Church to line the streets between the Conference Center and cemetery at 12:30 p.m. and wave canes as the prophet's casket passes by, according to Meridian magazine, on online, LDS-focused Web site.

For those not planning to make the trip downtown, Joseph Hadley, a media relations employee for University Communications, said, students can watch on campus at the Hinckley Center, the Varsity Theatre and the Terrace in the Wilkinson Center."

It will also be shown on Comcast channels 11 and 21, Dish Network channels 11, 8540 and 9403 and Direct TV channels 374 and 0-984. Stake centers around the world will be able to tune in via the church satellite system.