SPANISH FORK—Last year, Utahns paid roughly $1 billion in sales taxes that was ultimately spent on roadwork, Natalie Gochnour noted on Friday, subsidizing drivers with every gallon of milk, every pair of jeans and any other product that they purchased in the state.

Gochnour, a member of the Utah Transportation Commission, noted that number to highlight and challenge the false notion that only public transit is subsidized, while drivers pay for the roads they use. And as population growth exacerbates the constraints on water and land, she said, the state has little choice but to expand its transportation options beyond the decadeslong default of driving a personal vehicle for all trips.

“We have to embrace transit in a bigger way,” Gochnour said. “I think we just have to get ready to cont

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