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Lehi council hopeful pushes police hires, sidewalks and regional traffic coordination
Summary
James Harrison told podcast listeners Lehi needs more police officers, safer sidewalks near schools, and improved coordination with UDOT and neighboring cities to address congestion on Pioneer Crossing and other corridors; he favors civilian code enforcement for noncriminal tasks.
James Harrison, a candidate for Lehi City Council, told a Utah County Republican Party podcast he would prioritize public safety and regional transportation coordination if elected.
Harrison said Lehi is understaffed in policing and that meeting projected service levels will require adding officers now. “We have about 67 [officers] and we are about 40 police officers short right now,” he said in the interview, invoking a staffing study that measured shortfalls at peak hours. He argued that the shortfall is primarily a prioritization issue rather than a pure compensation problem and urged reallocating funds away from lower‑priority capital items.
To relieve patrol load and free sworn officers for serious calls, Harrison supports hiring civilian code‑enforcement officers to handle nonemergency code and parking complaints, citing Provo’s civilian model as an example. He said that would let patrol officers focus on violent or time‑sensitive incidents.
On pedestrian safety, Harrison criticized a recent MAG‑funded project on 2300 West where planned sidewalks were not fully installed near Ascent Academy; instead, he said, the city placed a mid‑block flashing crossing (HAWK) and did not clearly communicate the change to residents.
Regional traffic issues were another focus. Harrison described Pioneer Crossing as having hit capacity within a few years of opening and urged stronger relationships with UDOT and neighboring municipalities to pursue strategic corridors and connectors (including a proposed north connector from I‑15 to Redwood and discussion of a road over the lake) rather than piecemeal solutions.
He opposed the proposed Clubhouse Drive extension over Thanksgiving Point golf course, saying UDOT told him it would not relieve regional congestion and that the study largely exists to enable a nearby 2,000‑unit development.
Harrison said addressing sidewalks, police headcount and coordinated regional planning should be near‑term priorities for the council to keep Lehi safe as density increases.
