Intersection at 300 East and 700 South
The Life on State Bikeways study team continues to move forward with the project. This past summer, the study team engaged with the community through surveys, one-on-ones, comment maps, workshops and local community events. We want to thank each and every one of you for participating and providing your feedback. The study team is busy working through that feedback, incorporating ideas and suggestions and creating concepts for a world class biking facility.
What did we hear? Safety, safety, safety.
We received an overwhelming response that safety is a top priority, along with protected bike lanes and greener, more people-friendly streets. Local businesses also shared that on-street parking is a valuable resource. While many businesses encourage their customers to visit them by walking and biking, they want to preserve options for people who drive there too. In addition, attendees at our June 2021 open house said they would like to prioritize spaces along Main Street and West Temple for people walking, bicycling, riding scooters, enjoying public spaces, and using transit on the corridors in Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake City.
200 & 300 East
With Salt Lake City’s street resurfacing project this summer, 200 East and 300 East were transformed to balance the current needs of the community and lay a foundation for future upgrades. On 200 East, we converted a travel lane in each direction to create parking protected bicycle lanes going northbound between 700 South and 900 South with buffered bike lanes elsewhere; high-visibility merge areas for bike lanes at right turn locations; and extra on-street parking. The new 300 East design provides a safer and more comfortable experience for all traveling public by creating parking-protected bicycle lanes between 500 South and 800 South, removing blender lanes by extending bicycle lanes into intersections, and restoring the painted protected intersection at 700 South installed in 2019 as a quick-build project.
What is next?
Main Street and West Temple are now the study teams' major area of focus for where we can make the most impact. Salt Lake City has planned a resurfacing project for Main Street in 2022, and as with 200 and 300 East, the team will take advantage of the opportunity by making short-term improvements. These will be rolled out to the public in early 2022, and like those outlined above for 200 East and 300 East, they will again lay a foundation for future upgrades. The Study team will continue working closely with businesses and residents along Main Street through the remainder of the year to ensure that the upgrades will benefit all those living, working and traveling through the area. The team is also developing signage and striping concepts for West Temple in South Salt Lake City, from 2100 South to 3300 South, which can be implemented as funding becomes available. These concepts will also be available for public viewing in early 2022.