Downtown Alliance and Mayor Mendenhall say Salt Lake City's future is more housing, more entertainment and safer streets
Capital Offense
By Benjamin Wood @BjaminWood
WEST QUARTER—Spirits were high at the annual State of Downtown event on Thursday, where city and business representatives cheered successes of the past year and emphasized the economic opportunities of a rapidly-urbanizing Salt Lake City.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall said that SLC is "at a precipice," with thousands of new homes—including subsidized, affordable units—taking shape, increasing interest from professional sports franchises and streets projects aimed at making travel to and around downtown safer, greener and more efficient.
"I see a future entertainment district where you can walk from happy hour to dinner, you can go to the game after that, you can take light rail home and in the morning, you can ride your bike to work," she said. "We’re the capital city of the fastest growing state in the nation and the momentum here is so palpable."
The event—held at the new Le Meridien hotel—was hosted by the Downtown Alliance and showcased the first phase of the West Quarter, a mixed-use residential and hospitality district taking shape off of 300 West between the Delta Center and Salt Palace Convention Center.
Downtown Alliance executive director Dee Brewer said that sports, arts and entertainment are the primary drivers of downtown activity (and the Delta Center in particular), citing a review of cell phone data that found commercial visitors exceed both residents and office workers. Brewer said that all three categories are expected to grow, including a doubling of the downtown residential population over the next 24 months.
"That’s 5,000 more people waking up in the central business district every day. That’s an opportunity," Brewer said. "Our downtown economy is evolving, changing. Many people think of downtown as an office hub for the region's top companies and professional workforce."
Speakers at the event frequently cited the impact of the NBA All-Star Game—which flooded downtown with basketball fans last winter and was coupled with a suspension of transit fares—and the Green Loop demonstration project, which saw vehicle lanes reduced on a block of 200 East to accommodate a pop-up park and beer garden. The city is also looking to repeat the Open Streets on Main pilot this fall and is currently studying the permanent transformation of Main Street into a pedestrian and transit promenade.
"We’re really excited about the possibilities on Main Street," Brewer said.
Mendenhall reiterated her administration's commitment to Vision Zero, a national campaign in which participating cities work to eliminate traffic fatalities through infrastructure improvements and pedestrian-safe design. She said the Green Loop was "a taste of where we're headed" as a city of ideas with an incredibly bright future.
"No matter what street you’re on in Salt Lake City, you deserve to be on the safest street in America," Mendenhall said.
The city is nearing completion of major street improvement projects on 900 South and 300 West, with ongoing projects on 200 South and Highland Drive that are heavily impacting residents and business owners along those corridors. Smaller traffic "calming" efforts are also underway, with pilot installations recently added to the Emery (Poplar Grove) and Romona/Hollywood (Sugar House) Neighborhood Byways.
During 2022, Salt Lake City averaged two traffic fatalities per month, often involving pedestrians and other vulnerable road users struck by drivers.
"I know that road construction is frustrating," Mendenhall said. "But we know also that we will be better off once its done and that it will allow us to move more freely."
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About The Author
Benjamin Wood
Lifelong Utahn Benjamin Wood has worn the mantle of City Weekly's news editor since 2021. He studied journalism at Utah State University and previously wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News and Entertainment Weekly
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