Planning Commission Considers Downtown in Motion

Jun 23, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) More bike lanes, looping TRAX lines and color-coded buses could be in downtown Salt Lake City's future, if the Downtown in Motion transportation master plan is adopted by the city council next month. The plan will give downtown residents more transit options, says city transportation director Tim Harpst.  

"The downtown is growing very fast right now. It's evolving. We're starting to see condominiums and apartments going up downtown. We're going to see a lot more 24-hour-a-day living downtown," Harpst says. "All of this points to the need to provide more options for transportation downtown. So what we're pointing for is improvements in all of the modes of transportation."

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the downtown in motion transportation master plan Wednesday. Salt Lake City's Transportation Division and Redevelopment Agency, the Utah Department of Transportation, the Utah Transit Authority, The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Alliance collaborated on the long-range transportation plan. It covers transportation issues with vehicles, parking, public transit, and bicycles. Harpst says the number of commuter bicyclists and recreational cyclists will increase as the downtown becomes home to thousands of new residents.

"There are basically two types of bicyclists. There's the road-warrior that wants to be out on the street - and that's your typical bicycle commuter. And then there's the recreationist, who might be taking children with them. And you're going to see more of that as you see downtown housing develop," Harpst says. "And so what we want to try to do is provide a network of bicycle routes that are for both of those user groups."

This will include asking the city to remove the prohibition of bikes on sidewalks. Harpst says this would work if sidewalk bike traffic is required to be slow moving and yield to pedestrians. The Salt Lake City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Downtown in Motion plan Wednesday evening at 5:45 in Room 315 of the City and County Building. Click here for a longer conversation about the plan from KCPW's Public Square, formerly Midday Metro.

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