By Marcus Kaller — In the July 2017 SLCBAC meeting Scott Hess from the Wasatch Front Regional Council came to talk about the Transportation Improvement Program. It is a six-year program, set to begin next year, will implement highway, transit, and active transportation projects along the Wasatch Front, with funding coming from various federal, state and local sources. The types of projects include feasibility studies, planning support, road widenings, reconstructions and new constructions. The council were seeking public comments on each and any of the projects. The comment period continued until August 5.
Also, Phil Sarnoff or Bike Utah introduced Beth Haynes as the new coordinator for the Bike Ambassadors Program. And, with students going back to school later this month, the Youth Education program will return. If you believe that your nearby school should have a course on bike safety and practice for youths, contact Beth at bikeutah.org. And, if you are interested in becoming a bike ambassador, you can find the information and bikeutah.org.
Phil Sarnoff also unveiled the Active Transportation Health Benefits study. This is a collaboration with UTA, UDOT, SLCBAC, and several other local entities. As stated “the purpose of this study is to provide insight on the contributions that spending on active transportation projects and by people who walk and bicycle can make to regional economies.” In addition, the results of the study “discusses evidence and best practices in quantifying and monetizing active transportation costs and benefits related to equipment manufacturing, retail sales, tourism, infrastructure construction, real estate value impacts, air quality and emission reduction, and health impacts (from both morbidity and mortality perspectives).” You can read the report on the Bike Utah web site (bikeutah.org).
Trail Projects
The portion of Parley’s Trail, from Tanner Park to Sugarhouse Park that runs along I-80 should be complete by the end of July. Meanwhile, another portion of the trail, from 300 West to 900 West along the TRAX Green Line, should be completed by the end of August. Meanwhile, a feasibility study is being looked at to connect Parley’s Trail to the Jordan River Parkway.
Speaking of which, the portion of the Jordan River Parkway from 14600 South to 15000 south has been completed. Meanwhile, construction of a new connecting portion, from 200 South to North Temple, began earlier this month. The estimated time of completion will be later this year.
August meeting
Our next meeting will be August 8, in room N4-850 at the County Government Center (2001 South State Street), beginning at 5:30pm. In addition, we will be present in Big Cottonwood Canyon for Stage 3 of the Tour of Utah on August 2. We hope to see you there. You can find us at slco.org/bicycle, along with @slcbac on Twitter, and www.facebook.com/slcbac on Facebook.
