2 more Salt Lake City parks to close for months as they undergo transformations

SALT LAKE CITY — A small park in Salt Lake City's Liberty Wells neighborhood is getting a makeover as it becomes the latest open space to be targeted by a city bond that seeks to improve the city's parks, but the project will keep it closed until next year.

Ida M. Cotten Park, 1815 S. 300 East, closed on Monday for the beginning of the project, which includes a new playground, improved walkways and circulation within the open space and new plantings and irrigation, as well as lighting to enhance the area's safety.

The project elements were selected after a pair of public comment periods that first began in 2024, said Dustin Wiberg, senior landscape architect for Salt Lake City's public lands department. Since then, residents indicated they'd like to see more swings, shade and tree preservation, while also making it safer.

"(I'm) just really excited to provide an improved space there," he said. "It'll be a great benefit to the community surrounding it, and look to deliver on some of these parks that we've been working on for a little while."

It's not the only Salt Lake City park or open space set to close for improvements beginning this month.

Miller Bird Refuge and Nature Park, located at 1540 S. Bonneview Drive in Yalecrest, is slated to close on Aug. 24 for repairs to its historic masonry and ecological repairs. It's expected to remain closed for a few months, with a targeted reopening date in December.

City officials began warning residents of the upcoming closure last week, which will allow crews to repair the park's historic retaining walls and other features that were constructed by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Crews will also extend concrete steps near the park's southern entrance for better safety, especially during the winter months, while trail sections will be stabilized and improved for better accessibility. While that's underway, a team will also conduct vegetation mitigation and ecological restoration to improve the park's habitat and reduce wildfire risk, Jana Cunningham, a spokesperson for the city's public lands department, told KSL.

More closures to come

The closures come about two months after work began on an overhaul to Donner Trail Park (2903 E. Kennedy Drive), resulting in phased closures that will continue through that project's completion toward the end of this year. Pioneer Park (350 S. 300 West) is also in the middle of a glow-up.

Allen Park (1328 E. Allen Park Drive) was closed for months, reopening in May, before it's scheduled to close again later this year for upgrades that will likely keep it closed for a large portion of 2027. Madsen Park (9 N. Chicago Street), as well as parts of Jordan (1060 S. 900 West) and Poplar (775 S. 1200 West) parks are among the next to close for upgrades, Cunningham added.

Most of these projects are tied to the $85 million general obligation bond that residents approved in 2022 to help pay for repairs to parks and open spaces, while also building new ones. Salt Lake City leaders approved a $51 million tranche earlier this year, leading to the flurry of new park projects, including the enhancements to Ida M. Cotten Park.

Most of the Miller Bird Refuge project is tied to Salt Lake City's capital improvement program, a series of community-requested projects that are funded through the city's general budget every year. Many of these are happening now because it's easier to find contractors to build out the project than some of the larger parks also included in the bond, like Glendale Regional Park.

"We're trying to move all these along together," he said. "These ones now, maybe because they're a little smaller in nature, are able to go out to bid and get constructed a little faster because they are on the smaller side."

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