Salt Lake City's big 300 West bike extension plans hit a small snag with the state
A new bike path near the heart of Salt Lake City's growth is about to be extended, but it won't look exactly how city transportation officials first imagined it after a snag with the state.
Construction crews are slated to begin work as early as this week on an extension of a protected bike path along 300 West, adding to a recent project that created the bike lane from 900 South to 2100 South. The extension won't result in a full reconstruction of the road as was the case with the initial project, but it will help move the trail to 400 South by the end of the year, where it will connect with another pathway also being constructed this year.
'They're not full reconstructs, and so they don't seem like a big of a deal, but — from a biking perspective — they're a huge deal,' Salt Lake City transportation director Jon Larsen told KSL.com.
However, the 300 West path extension won't go as far north as the city had initially hoped because of a new state law.
The project's original plans called for the path to reach 300 South, thus crossing through Pioneer Park — one of the city's few downtown parks — along the way. But the latest version of the project, released last week ahead of construction, strikes out the final block. A note at the bottom says it was removed as it's located within the Utah Department of Transportation's right-of-way.
400 South serves as the dividing point in 300 West's unique ownership. Salt Lake City owns and maintains the road south of 400 South, while UDOT owns and manages the road north of it, as the 300 West is part of U.S. 89.
'At UDOT's request, this portion of the bikeway was removed from the project,' the note reads. 'We are currently working to redesign the 400 South crossing to accommodate this request.'
Larsen said the state agency didn't explain its decision to Salt Lake City, but UDOT officials told KSL.com that it was because of SB195.
The omnibus transportation bill gained attention because it included a pause on some Salt Lake City transportation projects for a year pending a UDOT study. The pause impacts projects that could reduce vehicle travel lanes on an 'arterial or a collector highway' within the core of the city, such as bike lanes.
In a statement, UDOT said it is still 'evaluating' a 300 West bike lane from 400 South to 300 South, along with all other 'highway reduction strategy projects' within the section outlined by SB195.
'In accordance with the law, we will conduct a technical evaluation and solicit public feedback from the entire community on all highway reduction strategy projects,' the agency added.
SB195 nearly paused the whole 300 West project altogether.
After several public revisions, the city and state settled on a smaller project area scope, along with a provision that allows for projects 'advertised on or before' Feb. 25 to continue. The rest of the project was only allowed to move forward this year because it met this deadline 'by like less than a week,' Larsen said.
Despite the 300 South setback, Salt Lake City transportation officials are excited about the project.
The new pathway will cross the eastern boundaries of the city's Fleet Block project and the Post District development along the burgeoning Granary District, helping the section of the city become more multimodal. It will still reach the southeastern edge of Pioneer Park, which is slated to receive a major makeover from a completely different project beginning later this year.
It'll link up with the 400 South Viaduct Trail as well, which is also under construction this year. The second pathway serves as an east-west connection, bridging people over railroad tracks and around I-15 on their way to 200 West, where it will connect with more protected bike lanes on that street. Both new pathways are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
'We're constantly trying to fill in gaps in our network,' Larsen said, adding that the state did provide some funding for both projects.
Salt Lake City transportation officials expect that 400 South will serve a the northernmost point of the 300 West bike pathway — for now. That could change if UDOT allows the 300 South extension to move forward as early as next year.
Further additions are also a possibility. Larsen sees value in connecting the pathway to the downtown redevelopment that Smith Entertainment Group is currently planning. Those plans include a plaza east of the Delta Center, where a section of 300 West could be tunneled.
Plaza logistics is still being sorted out, but the Utah Legislature set aside $300 million toward the project earlier this year. It's unlikely that planning for any type of connection between the plaza and 300 West bike path will begin soon, but Larsen isn't ready to rule out the possibility of it happening one day.
'We're always playing the long game on these things,' he said. 'We've always had a mentality of ... just keep expanding the network.'
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