Recent events (such as the passing of Utah Senate Bill 195,) have caused us to take a moment to reflect on the idea of our organization’s namesake - Sweet Streets. While our mission has been and will continue to be focused on improving our public streets and spaces, we want to restate the concept of a ‘Sweet Street’.

On March 7, the Utah Legislature voted to end Salt Lake City’s control of its own streets. Specifically, the capital can not move forward on any “highway reduction strategy” on a city-owned collector or arterial until they get approval from the Utah Department of Transportation.

The 2023 legislative session was a big one for safe streets and active transportation. Lawmakers budgeted $45 million for the buildout of a statewide trails network, FrontRunner got a $200 million injection for a new Draper station and more sections of double-track, and the state is putting more attention toward those tricky areas where sidewalks, bike lanes, trails and passenger rail get tied up around freight trains.