How a Salt Lake underpass became a quasi-park, with an assist from an RSL legend

SALT LAKE CITY — The Mead Avenue underpass is often overlooked by drivers entering and exiting I-15 at 900 South, and it’s easy to see why.

Aside from a massive pile of mulch and some scattered trash littered here and there, there isn’t much to look at right now.

Salt Lake City leaders acknowledge that they’ve dealt with homeless encampments in the space over the years, especially before a big community cleanup last year. Residents of the Central Ninth neighborhood, who led that cleanup, say it has essentially split their community in two.

“It creates a barrier between the northern half and the southern half,” said Doug Flagler, chairman of the Central Ninth Community Council. He explained that it’s made it difficult for residents from either side to enjoy what the other side has to offer.

However, Central Ninth residents have a bold solution for this problem.

After last year’s massive cleanup, they’re now preparing to construct a pair of futsal courts and new bike racks underneath the bridge hanging over the lot. People can play a version of soccer on the smaller, harder surfaces of the courts. Flagler says about a dozen volunteers have been regularly meeting to think of events to keep the space — known as “MeadUp” — active this summer.

A preliminary rendering also includes an amphitheater, but Flagler isn’t sure that will ever be built. The quasi-park could instead include a space for dogs to run around or a small gym space, with either option to be built in future phases once funding is secured.

Their vision received a boost from the city ahead of upcoming construction. Members of the Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency board, composed of the Salt Lake City Council, voted Tuesday to award $50,000 from the agency’s State Street Strategic Intervention account.

Their vote tacks onto the $16,000 the project has already received from other entities, while other funding requests are pending. The Utah Department of Transportation, which owns the land, is collaborating with the neighborhood to turn its aspirations into a reality, while RSL legend Nick Rimando has also led the charge on adding the futsal courts.

“We feel that we have so much energy, and there’s just a lot of people involved in what we’re doing,” Flagler said.

Creating MeadUP

Aaron Boyce, a resident of the nearby Ballpark neighborhood and member of the Ballpark Action Team, agrees that residents have long been annoyed with the overpass dividing the neighborhood. It’s also an issue he doubts will be addressed in his lifetime.

Similar sentiments led the Central Ninth neighborhood to explore alternatives for the space. Community leaders created a subcommittee a little over a year ago to review options to work around the “barrier,” which led them to a concept other cities have explored with otherwise dead space.

MeadUP, Boyce said, is essentially making lemonade out of lemons.

“(It’s about) how can you still activate those spaces? How can you still project hope for spaces like (this) even if they’re not going to change the way you would want them to?” he said, staring at the vacant lot on Tuesday, pausing amid a bike ride through the neighborhood.

Rimando caught wind of the projects after last year’s cleanup and got the ball rolling on what could be MeadUP’s crown jewel.

Now retired, he reached out and proposed a futsal court for the neighborhood through the Rise Athletics Foundation nonprofit he helps run. The soon-to-be National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee said it could be a “key location,” being that it’s not far from the 900 South TRAX Station and 9-Line bike line, on top of the roads in the area.

“These courts are all over the world, and it has been proven to bring community together (and) bring cultures together,” he explained.

A quick turnaround

City leaders say they’re thrilled with the community-led plan, offering support where they have jurisdiction. The city provided some funding for new lights and trees to be added to the area, while Tuesday’s funding adds to the pot of money collected for projects.

“In my mind, it’s actually the ideal use of strategic intervention funds, where we have a project that couldn’t be funded using the typical CPI (capital improvement program) process or other things, but really will make a big difference in reactivating a targeted area within our city,” said Salt Lake City Councilman Darin Mano, whose district includes the project area.

It won’t be long before MeadUP becomes a reality, either. Another cleanup is planned for April 26. A “pop-up” event bringing futsal to the space is planned for May 10, while the Utah Museum of Fine Arts will add new art installations, Flagler told KSL.com. He expects that the final courts won’t be completed until June.

The newly pledged funding, he adds, should go “a long way” toward making the concept a reality. All of the funding will also help the community bring in food trucks and other events to keep the quasi-park busy in its first summer.

“Our goal is to keep this space activated until we can fully complete the projects there,” he said.