What is SLC’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP)?

We’ll send you over to the City’s website to learn about the basics. Essentially, the CIP is a program that funds projects that improve public property, including streets and parks. These are medium sized projects, like rebuilding a playground, building a roundabout, or adding traffic calming to a set of streets. There is a somewhat convoluted process to submit a constituent requested CIP (almost like it’s a “if you know, you know” situation), but it’s not so bad once you tackle that hurdle, and that’s what we’re here for!

If you are interested in submitting a CIP in 2025, the process would look like this:

2025

• January-August: Come up with an idea and talk with friends and neighbors to refine it

• September: Submit the idea through the online application

• Late October: A city employee will connect with you from a relevant department, i.e., transportation

• November-December: Work with the city employee to create a concept design and city engineering will produce a cost estimate

• December: Application is due, refine and submit with cost estimates

2026

• February: Give a 2 minute spiel to the CIP Board who first judges the submissions

• March-April: The CIP Board gives a recommendation to the Mayor, who deliberates and selects projects for the city budget

• May-June: The City Council works with the Mayor to finalize and pass a budget for the next fiscal year, which will include selected CIP projects

• July and on: the selected CIP projects go to the relevant city department for design, phasing, and implementation

It is a bit of work, especially if you decide to campaign for community support, but it’s mostly idle time. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our experience with the process.

A recently completed protected intersection at 500 N 1000 W was a constituent CIP request! Image credit: @SLCmoves Instagram.