Font ResizeState Street, Utah's historic and aging main drag, may need to slow down to help urban renewal speed up.
Reduced speeds, fewer lanes, streetcars, even buses-only lanes are among the ideas planners and residents will consider this year in a valleywide quest for a new State Street vision all the way from the Capitol to Draper.
Government agencies with a stake in the road's future -- from the cities that abut it to the pavement owners at the Utah Department of Transportation -- have chipped in for a $150,000 "Life on State" study. It will become a blueprint for a prettier and more pedestrian-friendly 16-mile traffic artery flanked by a mix of multifamily housing and shops.
"This is like Extreme Makeover: Corridor
From responses to polls, Knowlton said, it appears an overhaul is in order. Most people call the street ugly. Strip malls. Car lots. Six speedy lanes with a weedy median. There is not a lot for cyclists and pedestrians to celebrate along State, and there's plenty at risk if they try to cross it.
If the state and cities agree, the plan could call for slower traffic with more attention paid to businesses and attractions along the way, instead of just getting from Point A to Point B.
There is surging demand for homes near workplaces, WFRC's Chuck Chappell said, and State Street is an ideal place to provide those as the valley's population grows denser. It has all the necessities, such as major water and sewer lines, plus transportation options including the street itself and nearby links to light rail and Interstate 15.
As it exists, though, State Street is a monument to drive-throughs and strip malls, and some who own property there aren't catching the "vision" of a more walkable future.
Busy Bee Grill owner Dean Duvris said his burger counter near 2100 South already
State Street is wide for a reason, he said, and it will need to carry still more traffic as the population swells. He doesn't envision people walking everywhere.
"It's too bad this town's so spread out," he said. "It doesn't work that way."
Murray Planning Director Tim Tingey said his city hopes for better landscaping and more reasons to walk. But that won't change the need for people to drive through on State.
"It gets people to destinations," he said. "It'll always be a very important transportation element for us and other communities."
Still, UDOT sees room for improvement.
State Street was the valley's major north-south highway until I-15 assumed that role about 40 years ago. Farther east, 700 East also became largely an avenue for through traffic, and State -- once a hot spot for teenage cruisers -- became part highway, part commercial strip.
That dual duty gives the street's future some flexibility, UDOT planning director John Thomas said. It must remain a traffic artery, he said, but it also makes sense to emphasize the businesses that line it. Whether that means fewer lanes, bus lanes or something else, the state is listening.
"We want to see what the communities would like to have," Thomas said.
It will be a long road to results, though, possibly taking decades to reshape the highway into something more "livable." Planners acknowledge it could take public investments first to encourage redevelopment later.
The planning starts next month with two public "visioning workshops." Neighborhood forums would follow in August.
By January, WFRC and its consultants expect to present their plans. Even then, though, pumping more life into State would require action by cities. They would have to rezone the corridor to allow a mix of housing and retail. Carving space out of existing retail strips could be a tough sell in a state where cities compete for sales taxes, but Knowlton insists renewing retail space and putting new customers in nearby homes ultimately would prove a good business plan.
And State would find new life as the valley's main street.
July 8 » 6 p.m., Jordan High, 95 E. Beetdigger Blvd. (9825 South), Sandy.
July 9 » 6 p.m., Murray High, 5440 S. State St., Murray.
