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Residents urge Magna council to keep or relocate runway truck ramp after recounting 1985 crash
Summary
Three residents and a water‑district official urged the council to reconsider removal of a runaway truck ramp on 8400 West, citing a 1985 crash that resulted in severe injuries and deaths and alleging staff removed the ramp without sufficient public input; council did not vote on the ramp at this meeting.
Several residents told the council that removing the runaway truck ramp on 8400 West would erase a lifesaving safety feature and asked the council to either retain or relocate it rather than remove it as part of planned road work.
Megan Olsen opened public comments by saying most sitting council members (she said) approved sending a July 2023 letter to UDOT to remove the ramp and then recounted a detailed family history: a 1985 fully loaded excavation truck lost control, struck her mother’s car and other pedestrians, and left multiple children and family members with lifelong injuries. Olsen described the ramp as a community safeguard installed after that crash and said removal would “erase the visible reminder that this community cared enough to act.” She asked the council to reconsider and, if removal is necessary, to pursue relocation instead.
Corby Larson (who said he was a lifelong Magna resident) identified himself as one of the children injured in that same accident and urged the council to retain the ramp to prevent future tragedies. Rosemary (family name unclear in the transcript) echoed those pleas and asked the council to “please reconsider.”
Clint Dilley, general manager of the Magna Water District, spoke earlier in the public comment period about a separate but related access point: he said the developer seeking to build the road at 4100 South and 8400 West accessed district property without completing a purchase, removed fencing, and severed water lines; he said the district supports the project in concept but is concerned about the contractor's actions.
Council members acknowledged the comments. Mayor Eric Barney noted he was not present at the earlier meeting a commenter referenced and therefore could not confirm the procedural history cited by callers. The council did not take a formal vote on the runaway ramp during the Aug. 26 meeting; staff and residents indicated options such as relocation or truck restrictions remain on the table.
The statements about prior council votes and the claimed May 2024 use of the ramp were offered by speakers as factual assertions; the council did not confirm those specifics during the public comment period.
The council did not announce a follow‑up date for a formal decision on the ramp at this meeting.
