Salt Lake City seeking community input for traffic calming on 600/700 North

A new improvement project seeks to “make the 600/700 North corridor work adequately for pedestrians, bikes, buses, and cars.” Graphic courtesy of Salt Lake City Transportation Division.

Several years ago, the Salt Lake City Transportation Department looked at the feasibility of traffic improvements along the 600/700 North corridor. This project now has state and local funding and construction is expected to start in the spring or summer of 2025, said Kyle Cook, project manager and Salt Lake City transportation engineer, noting that an online survey asking residents to comment on the project will be up until the end of August.

Meanwhile, transportation staff members have been holding workshops and focus groups with local residents to revisit the concepts outlined in 2021, which include making 600/700 North – located between the Rose Park and Fairpark neighborhoods – safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and upgrading utilities, sidewalks, and street pavement.

“We want to promote safety and mobility to better serve the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Cook, noting that desired outcomes for the project include community pride, maintenance and improvement of the corridor’s transportation function, beautification, and safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

In addition to the workshops and focus groups, residents are encouraged to give their opinions about the street by taking an online survey at www.600northslc.org/. According to Cook, community input will continue until this fall, when a community workshop will be held to finalize the design. At the same time, the SLC Transportation Department is collecting and analyzing data such as the number of vehicles, freight trucks, bicycles, and pedestrians currently using the road, he added.

After a concept is selected by the community, city engineers will begin on blueprints for the road design scheduled for completion by the winter of 2025, said Cook.

“The 600/700 corridor gives access to two freeways and to downtown Salt Lake City, so it is an important street,” said Greg Sanchez, chair of the Salt Lake City Transportation Advisory Board and Westside community member, “but it does not currently promote safety,” he added, noting that there were two fatalities on the road last year alone.

The planned improvement area goes from West Temple to 2200 West, and ideas outlined include green areas, pedestrian islands in the median, easier pedestrian access especially at commercial hubs, and improved bike lanes.

“We want to make sure that everyone interested in the street has the opportunity to participate in the design process,” said Cook, noting that the street is a busy artery but nowhere near capacity, and new guidelines for traffic in the city call for more than just moving cars from one block to the next. He added that measured vehicle traffic on the street between 800-900 West indicated that 55 percent of drivers exceed the 35mph posted speed limit and 18 percent of vehicles travel at 40mph or higher.

”The conditions vary quite a bit along the corridor,” he said, “much of the (street) pavement is in poor condition. Sidewalks exist but the quality varies; cracking and lifting from tree roots are a problem, as well as pedestrian ramps at intersections corners. Unmaintained park strip landscaping also impacts the quality of sidewalk space in areas.”

Cook added that statistics show that 200 bikes and pedestrians access the street each day at the Jordan River Trail on 700 North, emphasizing that any changes to the street must also serve those users. “The bottom line is how do we make the 600/700 North corridor work adequately for pedestrians, bikes, buses and cars,” said Sanchez.

To learn more or take the survey, which asks how people access the road and what should be done to make it better, go to this site: www.600northslc.org/. Those without computer access can call (801) 618-1003 to get information or make comments.