Sugar House transportation revamp focuses on more bikes, fewer cars

Sugar House transportation revamp focuses on more bikes, fewer cars


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SALT LAKE CITY — Plans are moving forward to revamp transportation in the Sugar House area, leaving some residents elated and some upset.

Many residents may not like hearing that traffic lines could disappear and wait times at red lights may increase as more bike lanes and walking areas are added. These changes are part of the Sugar House Business District Circulation Plan.

The document cites the area's growing business and development and pinpoints overly saturated streets as a hindrance to growth of the Central Business District, or CBD.

"Several of Sugar House's CBD streets are approaching their effective motor vehicle capacity during the peak hours of the day," the document reads. "There are few opportunities or desire to expand capacity to accommodate more cars."

The area plans to increase walkability and bikability of CBD streets, and ultimately it will encourage transportation within the Sugar House area to be primarily forms of transit other than driving. The plan aims to manage parking more carefully as well.

Give Input
Those who want to weigh in can attend:
  • Community council meeting
    Wednesday, 7 p.m.
    Sprague Branch Library
    2131 S. 100 East
  • The Salt Lake City Planning Commission public hearing
    April 10, 5:30 p.m.
    Salt Lake City and County Building

Amy Barry, vice chair for the Sugar House Community Council, said Salt Lake City has been getting a lot of community involvement on the project.

"I'm really excited about furthering the possibility of the vision of the neighborhood we want to live in, because what we have right now isn't working," she said.

Highland Drive

One area targeted by the changes is Highland Drive. The plan aims to reduce it from four lanes to three lanes in what it dubs the "Road Diet." Some residents are worried about added congestion by reducing lanes, but Barry said the impact won't be as drastic as people imagine.

The study picked out three intersections and studied average delay:

The added delay is only a few seconds when lanes are reduced to three, the study said. "While they feel like they are queued up further back, there's not a significant increase in the wait time to get through that light," Barry said.

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