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.