Sweet Streets urges SLC to support a linear park on 700/600 North
Salt Lake City is poised to transform life on the west side, but it will take residents’ help to make it happen.
City planners have released three proposed redesigns of the 700/600 North corridor, a critical east-west passage that serves businesses, neighborhoods, parks and schools, and that moves vehicles between Redwood Road and I-15.
Each of the three proposed designs is an improvement over current conditions, adding landscaping and dedicated spaces for cyclists and transit riders and enhancing the safety of people walking or rolling. But the third design option goes above and beyond, returning roughly half of the current road space to the people and fundamentally shifting the paradigm of what a wide, Salt Lake City street can be.
Some features of option three include:
A park and multi-use pathway stretching for several blocks on the street’s north side.
One 12-foot wide car lane in each direction and a 10-foot wide central left turn lane.
A 10-foot wide protected bike lane with raised curbs on the South side of the street.
A 10-foot wide shared access road for driveways blocked by the new linear park.
More detail is available on the city website, along with a public survey on the designs that runs through the end of March. But for conversation’s sake, the linear park concept could be thought of as analogous to Liberty Park, but stretched into a line next to vehicle lanes rather than being wrapped into a closed loop. The city’s plans suggest the park will include a mix of lawns, plazas and other amenities for the use of all Salt Lake City residents.
That means the same kind of multi-use, community engagement that we see in a typical city park, combined with the practical benefit of having a safe, pleasant space to walk, bike, scoot, wait for a bus and yes, even drive, when traveling. It would also connect to existing transit routes and public spaces like the Jordan River Parkway Trail, filling in gaps in the city’s cycling network and providing more convenient options for safely traveling through our city.
Research shows that it is low-income residents who are most reliant on bicycles and public transit to accomplish their day-to-day activities. Transforming the 700/600 North corridor into a linear park with dedicated space for non-vehicle travel would meet residents where they are, offering safe spaces to recreate, facilitating community interactions, boosting the visibility of local businesses along the corridor and offering motorists a legitimate clean-air alternative to driving their cars.
Beyond the parkway, the design calls for new pedestrian and cycling routes over the I-15 overpass at 600 North. That area, in its current state, is objectively dangerous for anyone not traveling in a personal vehicle, and the proposed changes would better-connect the city’s east and west sides. These proposed changes are vital, and we urge the city and state to prioritize the safety of all road users to safely travel across the interstate on 600 North, which would provide better connections between Marmalade/Capitol Hill and Rose Park.
Public feedback is critical in turning these kinds of lofty proposals into a reality. The city’s survey remains open until the end of the month, and Sweet Streets invites our neighbors to consider the plans and join us in supporting option 3 and imagining the potential of roads where there is truly room for everyone.
Fill out the city’s survey NO LATER THAN MARCH 26, 2021.
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ABOUT SWEET STREETS: Sweet Streets is a nonprofit that educates and advocates for people-first planning, budgeting, implementation and operation of our streets and public spaces in Salt Lake City.
