Sweet Streets summer updates: Quick and easy ways you can make your streets safer this summer.
This past month, we launched the 20 is Plenty safety campaign to lower the default speed limit in Salt Lake City neighborhoods to 20 mph. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response: hundreds of people have already signed our petition and requested lawn signs to spread the word and show support. But we have a long way to go to reach our goal.
But there’s lots going on this summer, and there are numerous quick and easy ways you can make an impact in our goal of making streets in every neighborhood safer for everyone to travel. Get a rundown on open surveys, updates on the work we’ve been doing and other ways you can raise your voice.
Open Traffic Calming Surveys
Salt Lake City is currently in the public comment period of several projects that Sweet Streets is tracking, and we invite everyone to join us by taking five minutes and filling out a few open surveys.
Livable Streets: High speeds in neighborhoods is the No. 1 complaint in Salt Lake City, yet the Transportation Division hasn’t had a traffic calming program since 2003. That would change under a program to be released later this month, and the city needs your feedback. Follow the link to share your thoughts on the need to bring speeds down quickly in every neighborhood.
500 North: You may recall that 500 North was closed to through-traffic during the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic. The city is now considering making permanent changes. Follow the link to share your thoughts and ask for slower, safer speeds today.
Open Streets
The city is once again experimenting with shutting down Main Street to vehicle traffic on weekend evenings this summer, with The Blocks and The Downtown Alliance doing a lot of heavy lifting to safely transform Main into a pedestrian promenade.
Check it out if you haven’t already, and help vote with your feet and/or wheels for permanently making Main a street for all people.
300 West
Get ready to take a new look at 300 West, with construction underway that will finally add consistent and complete sidewalks to that important roadway, along with a protected two-way cycle track and enhanced pedestrian crossings.
Take a look at our comments on the final design. We had concerns over the number and placement of crosswalks and the lack of improvement at existing intersections that are hostile to people outside of cars. Overall, we’re happy to witness 300 West become a multi-modal corridor that bridges the city’s east and west sides.
200 South
The city’s consultant on the reconstruction of 200 South (a comprehensive overhaul between 400 West and 900 East) has recommended side-running bus-only lanes with floating bus stops, improved sidewalk retail and dining space and separated bike lanes.
This treatment, if done well, would help with the visibility of transit, the continuity and safety of bike lanes, and creating safer crossings for pedestrians.
The city has so far released the design only for a single cross-section of the street, which leaves open key questions like the level of protection for the bicycle lane, the amount of curb space given to parked cars and whether the restriction of only buses in the transit lane will be enforced at all hours of the day. Be prepared to spring into action when a final design is released later this summer.
Odds and Ends
In the odds and ends pile, construction is scheduled to start soon on the rebuild of 100 South between 900 East and University Street. But the design is a disappointment, with two, wide vehicle travel lanes in each direction and no bicycle lane, despite the obvious cycling connections into and out of the University of Utah campus.
Sweet Streets is concerned that the design violates Salt Lake City’s Complete Streets Ordinance — 14.06.020 — and explanations from city officials have been unsatisfying.
This highlights the need for the Salt Lake City Council to revisit the existing Complete Streets ordinance for updates that ensure the ordinance is followed for all future projects.
