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SALT LAKE CITY — City officials and west side residents Saturday cheered the official opening of the 9Line Corridor, a bike and pedestrian path connecting the west side of Salt Lake with east side along 900 South.
The 10-year project was a collaborative effort between the city and Union Pacific in addition to committed residents, according to leaders at Saturday's ribbon cutting.
"This will be an important plus for our neighborhood," said Salt Lake City Councilman Van Turner. "It's good to have our neighborhoods together again."
The more than 1.5-mile paved trail runs along 900 South from 700 West to Redwood Road, with a short spur trail running southeast from 400 West to 300 West and Brooklyn Ave. (1010 South). The entire corridor runs from the 200 West TRAX stop to the Surplus Canal just west of I-215.
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Cyclists want improvement in Utah trails
Bike sales have increased 9 percent over ten years, with 44 percent more people now biking to work. But cyclists say that Salt Lake City and the county are not keeping up.Children on scooters and bikes along with some in sleds took the snowy trail for a test run Saturday following the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Luke Macfarlane, a student at Westminster who commutes by bike, said the new trail will be a great addition for people who are just getting into biking.
"It's nice to have paths like this because it encourages beginner cyclists," he said.
Controversy was the impetus for the new trail, beginning when congestion in the downtown area and sharp turns on Union Pacific's main line forced the railroad to reactivate a defunct train line along 900 South, upsetting homeowners in that area.
Residents' property values were depressed by the trains. They will rebound now.
–- Sen. Fred Fife.
City and state leaders got together with Union Pacific to work out a plan that would benefit both the community and the company — for the hefty price tag of $50 million. That funding went to realigning the train tracks on the main line so trains wouldn't need to slow down as much, and Union Pacific pledged to turn the 900 South property over to the city once the project was complete.
The Utah Transit Authority put up $15 million, Union Pacific put up $15 million, Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County contributed $14.5 million and the state and federal governments contributed another $5 million for the project.
Residents in the area said they were happy to see the tracks along 900 South abandoned in 2008 and are even happier to see them replaced the community-centered pathway.
"What a dream, what a dream," said resident and former state Sen. Fred Fife. "Residents' property values were depressed by the trains. They will rebound now."
Email:mfarmer@ksl.com
