- Kearns Mayor Kelly Bush aims to transform her city into a tourist destination.
- Bush seeks support from Olympic organizers for transportation and economic development projects.
- She believes the Games are a rejuvenation opportunity for Kearns.
KEARNS — Could the 2034 Winter Games help transform Kearns into a tourist destination?
That's Kearns Mayor Kelly Bush's goal for the west-side bedroom community, home to the Utah Olympic Oval, the long track speedskating venue built ahead of the 2002 Winter Games and set to be used again in 2034.
"That's what we're really excited about, making this a place that when they leave after the Olympics, they want to keep coming back here," Bush told reporters after meeting Friday with leaders of the Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The closed-door meeting, held in an event center located next to the Oval, was the latest stop on the organizing committee's "listening tour" of venue communities that kicked off in May, stopping first in Ogden and then, in July, headed to the Heber Valley.
For Kearns, the Oval "is our diamond, and we want to make it shine," Bush said, noting "a lot of people don't even realize that we have an Olympic venue here. So that is something that we need to make sure that we are shining. ... We just need to bring that attention here."
Brad Wilson, the organizing committee's CEO, said the venue is ready for another Games so it's a question of what can be done to make being a competition site "even better and better" for Kearns.
"We heard that transportation was a little tricky during the Games in '02. We want to make sure that we're aware of that and work on those issues," he said, as well as how Kearns becomes "a bigger and bigger part of winter sports in the state."
Bush said accessing Kearns via wide surface streets like 5400 South "is not convenient at all." She said there may be new transportation options by Games time, including a bus rapid transit line that hopefully would someday be replaced by a new TRAX line.
"I think that's just going to evolve," Bush said. "We really need to make this happen."
Transportation to and through Kearns needs to be easier, she said, given that most residents work outside the community and many rely on public transportation, often buses that can require multiple transfers.
"It just seems like TRAX is just a lot easier for people to navigate," Bush said.
That's what we're really excited about, making this a place that when they leave after the Olympics, they want to keep coming back here.
–Kelly Bush, mayor of Kearns
The mayor said she was looking Friday for backing from Olympic organizers as Kearns approaches state and federal officials about transportation and other projects related to the community's economic development.
"We just want their support when we go legislatively, that whatever we need that they can help us make this happen. That's really what's most important, and that's just a partnership," Bush said.
The mayor got what she came for from the two-hour meeting, which included Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson as well as a wide range of local government officials.
"I felt 100% like we had that commitment leaving. Going in, with anything like this, you don't know where it's going to go," Bush said, adding, "I think we all left with a really positive, great feeling that they're going to be here for us and we're going to have a great Games."
She said 2034 "is going to be kind of a rejuvenation for our community."
Both Bush and Wilson said they stressed the need for any projects to be sustainable, not just done for the Games. The Salt Lake County mayor said she's hearing "a lot of excitement" about hosting again in the 23 communities she represents.
"I think everyone recognizes the benefits," Wilson said, adding that while she has complete trust in the organizing committee, "we need to be intentional about our transportation planning, about growth demands."
