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SOUTH SALT LAKE — After receiving feedback from about 1,500 people over seven months, Salt Lake County officials announced a new plan this week to improve bike trails and transportation options along the Wasatch Front.
Called the Active Transportation Implementation Plan, the goal is to "get people walking and biking more,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. "It's good for the air to take the car off the road. It’s just part of being a healthy community."
The plan — which cost about $250,000 to develop — includes connecting routes in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties and was developed after more than a year of engagement between county officials and residents.
McAdams said the main reason behind people choosing not to ride bikes is because they do not feel safe on city roads, which is what the new proposal aims to solve.
“We want to have a regionally connected master plan that is safe and enticing for people to come out and use it,” the mayor said.
While the plan proposes several bike trails throughout each county, one of the largest trails would connect the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Millcreek to South Salt Lake and the Jordan River Trail in West Valley City.
"We stand here today to look forward to a future with better ways for people to move around the city,” South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood said, adding that Salt Lake Valley is growing rapidly and officials are working "at top speed to make this happen."
Carlton Christensen, Salt Lake County director of regional development, said the goal is to have trails connecting county lines, which he hopes will encourage people to walk or ride bicycles, rather than using cars.
"As we move forward, we see Salt Lake County not only being a connected county within the county, but also with our regional partners," he said. "As one community builds a route, the next community will continue that route through theirs.”
It's good for the air to take the car off the road. It’s just part of being a healthy community.
–Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams
In addition to elected county officials, representatives of pro-bike groups also participated in the planning.
Betsy Byrne, a member of the Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee, said she hopes having more bicycle trails will help Utah's poor air quality.
“I think if people can get out of their cars, it alleviates traffic congestion, it improves air quality, and it has personal impacts. So there are a number of benefits,” Byrne said.
Similarly, McAdams said he felt that "properly engineered" bike routes "boost cycling dramatically and will contribute to cleaner air."
Funding for specific trails will come from each municipality's transportation budget, but Salt Lake County offers $800,000 each year in grant money that cities can apply for. However, the grant money must be used to fund bike trails or other forms of transportation.
More information, including maps of current and future bike trails, can be found at slco.org/bikes.
