Salt Lake City Council to hear ‘Green Loop’ proposal

SALT LAKE CITY –The Salt Lake City Council will soon hear a proposal for a green space park that would encircle the downtown area.

Imagine a loop around Salt Lake City’s downtown. The loop would be safe for walkers and cyclists and provide spaces for mini-parks and trees.

Council Chair Victoria Petro shared her thoughts on the project on KSL at Night. Listen 👇

 

That loop, the Green Loop, is in talks among the Salt Lake City Council. The loop would run along North Temple, 5th West, Ninth South and 2nd East. The city’s Transportation Director Jon Larsen says they did a trial run with trees, a badminton court and food trucks right in the middle of 2nd East and it was a huge success.

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“It was amazing to watch people… At first it was this sense of just kind of… delight. Like ‘wow, I didn’t know that you could use a street this way,” Larsen said. 

He says the Green Loop could become a very important space for downtown residents in many ways. 

“It could help cool downtown, it could help filter rainwater, so it takes the pressure off of our storm drain system,” he said.  

Projects like the Atlanta Beltline or the New York City High Line serve as inspirations for this project. 

Larsen visualizes people running and walking along the sidewalks with their dogs or relaxing under the shade of trees. The initial cost estimate is $3 million dollars. The City Council will get their first briefing on it on August 13, where they will get into the “nitty gritty” details with public input.