Skywalk decision expected

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After all the chatter about gerbil cages, obstructed views and LDS Church politics, the Salt Lake City Planning Commission is poised, at last, to make a meaningful move on the proposed downtown sky bridge: a vote.

The skywalk - which would span Main Street between South Temple and 100 South to connect each half of the 25-acre City Creek Center - remains the controversial heart of the LDS Church's $1 billion-plus mall makeover.

On Wednesday, the commission will entertain a public hearing before a scheduled vote on both the bridge and the overall site plan. The City Council - which amended the master plan last year (albeit with a set of conditions) to allow a bridge - then has final say on the commission's skywalk recommendation.

If past is prelude, the City Creek Reserve Inc. team faces a cloudy outlook on its bid to erect an enclosed-glass bridge.

Earlier this month, commissioners outlined a litany of complaints, ranging from philosophical gripes to preferences for an open-air path.

Planning Commissioner Peggy McDonough said everything planned at City Creek Center flows nicely on both sides of the block but comes to an "abrupt halt" at the bridge.

"It needs to be treated as a sinuous process that is contributing to Main Street," McDonough said. "They haven't created a successful connection."

Mayor Ralph Becker has said he will not oppose the bridge because it is only a small part of a "great development." Even so, he has yet to see the developer's sky bridge proposal.

"I'm not going to make a judgment based on what I don't know," Becker said. "The City Council came up with some very detailed criteria and conditions. I would expect the Planning Commission to follow that policy direction."

Becker's predecessor did not mince words about his opposition. Rocky Anderson threatened to sell the air rights above Main to block the bridge, which he called a gerbil cage for trapping people inside the development.

Alan Sullivan, an attorney for the LDS Church's development arm, CCRI, warned that the longer a decision is delayed, the more money it could cost the developer.

"We would like to bring this process to a closure," he told the commission earlier this month.

During that session, developers screened a digital simulation that showed a visible Ensign Peak through the glass sky bridge from an oncoming TRAX train. The developers have consistently said blending the bridge and maintaining a view corridor are top priorities.

Ron Loch, vice president of development partner Taubman Co., notes the Utah Transit Authority strongly opposes an open-air bridge.

Loch showed commissioners a UTA letter that outlines its liability concerns, which include bridge-crossers tossing items onto the tracks or possibly reaching out and being electrocuted by TRAX cables.

Even so, several commissioners suggested they would prefer an open-air model - similar to the Legacy Bridge at the University of Utah - or at least a skywalk that offers some fresh air.

Members also voiced concerns about how the bridge transitions to the street and the overall design, which one commissioner panned as not at all "unique."

Commissioner Tim Chambless worries about blocking the view of the mountains as well as stripping the life from the street.

"I want to see people out on the sidewalks, the way I have seen them in Tokyo and Beijing and Paris," Chambless said. "We're making a decision that we're going to be living with for maybe half a century. I want it to be something we can live with."

A simple majority among the 10-member commission is all that is needed for a positive or negative recommendation. The City Council, however, is not bound by that decision.

McDonough said the commission likely will be "all over the board" on whether the pedestrian bridge should be open-air or enclosed. But if all concerns are not addressed, she said, the board also could delay the issue.

"The big question is: Is this going to enliven Main Street or detract from Main Street?" McDonough said. "That is the core issue. It is a tough decision."

djensen@sltrib.com