Salt Lake City Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Public Hearing on December 1, 2015

December 1, 2015 – The Salt Lake City Council will hold a public hearing today on the proposed update to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The draft plan is the result of two and a half years of hearings, public comments, stakeholder meetings, and revisions. Cyclists are encouraged to attend the public hearing to comment on the plan.

The public hearing will take place at 7 pm in the City Council Chambers on the third floor, 451 S. State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111. The Council is tentatively set to vote on the plan on December 8, 2015.

Comments can be made by speaking at the council meeting (fill out a card to speak), or by email to the council as a whole, or to individual council members: http://www.slccouncil.com/contact/  Comments can be made through the public hearing today, and will also be accepted through December 8, 2015 via email.

The agenda for the December 1, 2015 council meeting is here: http://slcgov.iqm2.com/citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=1122&Inline=True

The Public Agenda packet with a current draft of the plan, and memoranda is here: http://slcgov.iqm2.com/citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1122&Inline=True

The current draft of the plan is here: http://walkbikeslc.com/

Note that there are some final changes that are not yet incorporated in the draft plan document. These are in the memorandum from the Transportation Division to the City Council dated November 20, 2015. These can be found in the Public Agenda Packet above.

The final changes include:

1. Working with UDOT to develop East-West Corridors that may include bicycle and pedestrian overpasses and/or facilities to link the east side and west side of Salt Lake City.
2. Further focus on reducing speed limits in Salt Lake City.
3. Extend the proposed bike lanes on 400 South at least as far east as Pioneer Park.
4. Add a trail parallel to Bangerter Highway in anticipation of new growth in the region. Add bike lanes on 7200 West. Note that these two areas were left off of the map in the initial draft.
5. Add the Great Salt Lake Marina Bike Route as an official recreational bike route.

Opinion on the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan 2015 Update (by Dave Iltis):

I would like to encourage all cyclists to support the Salt Lake City Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan update. Please do come to the public hearing today. Please do comment in support of the plan either in person or via email. The plan has been refined considerably since the initial drafts in 2014. Many changes have been incorporated including the additions of a bicycle data program, bicycle theft reduction program, speed limit policy, the Great Salt Lake Marina bike route, and other changes. The plan is a solid document that will help to improve and guide bicycling in Salt Lake City over the next 10-30 years. There are many great aspects in the plan such as a low stress bikeway network in the downtown area that includes 300 S and 200 W protected bikeways as the backbone.

The plan has significant changes and updates from the 2004 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

Please do support the update.

Previous articles and comments on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan:

Background: https://www.cyclingwest.com/advocacy/salt-lake-city-seeks-comments-bicycle-pedestrian-master-plan-draft/

Comments by Cycling Utah: https://www.cyclingwest.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Comments-on-SLC-Bike-Plan-Draft-by-Dave-Iltis-1-28-2015.pdf