Salt Lake City is scrapping a proposal to cut down car lanes on a major west-side road.
Initially, the city proposed reducing the travel lanes along 600-700 North from two to one in each direction, but walked back the concept after some residents said in a survey and meetings that they still often get behind the wheel to get around.
New plans for the stretch that runs from Redwood Road to 800 West were released last week and call for taking advantage of the corridor’s width.
“We’ve used that extra space to create a design that adds high-quality infrastructure improvements like bike lanes and wider sidewalks that better support people who walk and bike while maintaining existing travel lanes for drivers,” city transportation engineer Kyle Cook said in a news release. “It’s not every day that we can do almost everything the community is asking for on a road project, but we have enough room to build the best of all options.”
The road’s redesign comes as the city works to improve alternate transportation options like biking and walking and reconnect the east and west sides. When it’s built, it will join a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks at 300 North and a future public art trail along 400 South as an upgraded west-side corridor.
Besides the two travel lanes in each direction along 600-700 North, the new plans show bike paths separated from the road, new landscaping and enhanced crosswalks with flashing lights. The proposal also calls for replacing aging pavement on the road and preserving on-street parking spaces.
In hopes of limiting crashes and slowing down cars on a road that currently sees at least 15% of drivers going at least 10 mph over the 35 mph speed limit, the design includes extended curbs and a median.
“I’ve had two kids involved in crashes on that road,” said Rose Park Community Council chair Kevin Parke. “We need to slow down that traffic.”
Fears about safety on the road are not unfounded. In the past five years, there have been 139 crashes and two fatal collisions with pedestrians along the busy street.
Respondents to a 2023 city survey largely agreed with Parke. Safety along the road and speeding were the most persistent concerns residents shared.
Those who responded to the survey also said they wanted additional trees, landscaping, better bike routes, upgraded sidewalks, traffic-calming measures and more lighting.
The city’s project team will be refining the design for the rest of the year. Construction is slated to begin next year.
While the city-led project won’t improve access across Interstate 15, a state-led proposal to widen the freeway does include pedestrian- and bike-friendly upgrades to the oft-maligned 600 North overpass.
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