What is a ‘Sweet Street’ Anyway?
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’.
It all stems from the idea that urban streets should be places that put people first. This means not only providing safe, multi-modal transportation options, but also creating spaces where all are welcome and comfortable, inviting people to linger and foster a sense of community. This includes spaces that provide refuge, like shaded spaces with street trees, places to sit, and attractive bus stops with adequate shelter. Good visibility, lighting, and houses/shops facing the street to put eyes on the street. Spaces that are interesting by investing in urban design and art with a variety of surfaces, textures and visuals, instead of just doing the bare minimum with a narrow concrete sidewalk, where pausing for a moment would put you ‘in the way’ of others.
Recent plans in the city—such as new area plans for 300 West, the Street Design and Typologies Guide, and the upcoming Form Based Zoning—are steps in the right direction. Big city-led projects like Main Street Pedestrianization, the Emerald Ribbon Action Plan, and the Green Loop capture many of these ideas. That’s why we’re so appreciative of many of you who spoke up for Salt Lake City’s recent and planned efforts when the state threatened our ability to plan our own streets.
As we continue to grapple with the fallout of SB195, which could result in SLC scaling back some of its street design efforts, let’s remember that we can also invest in other parts of the street that make it sweet. With that said, we will certainly continue to push forward in the fight for safer street design.
If you venture out to City Creek Park by the Capitol, pay closer attention to the path within the park. Is this Salt Lake City’s first separated bikeway? Notice the use of different pavement patterns to subtly denote the bike path and the ‘bike stones’ set in the concrete. While this path was not built for transportation, it exhibits a whole lot of sweetness, routed through trees and by a daylit creek. The city could learn a thing or two from this 30 year old piece of infrastructure!
