Drastic traffic changes on the table as UDOT studies Salt Lake City’s Capitol Hill

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City’s downtown, Capitol Hill and University of Utah commutes are converging into regular residential traffic patterns, resulting in unique challenges for the northeast end of Utah’s capital city.

These challenges are exacerbated by the area’s hilly topography, including barriers like City Creek Canyon and the multimodal transportation needs within the triangle. They’ve also worsened as the city grows, leading to traffic headaches for those zipping in and out of town and additional burdens for the many people living in the neighborhoods at the center of everything.

It’s why state transportation officials are exploring creative ways to handle a growing number of people using the roadways, adding to efforts at the city level.

“We’re trying to balance the transportation network in this area to help people just get around,” said Geoff Dupaix, a Utah Department of Transportation regional planning manager.

Following months of surveying, state transportation officials unveiled a series of proposals to address traffic circulation on Tuesday, as they near the end of the Capitol Hill Study.

6 possible solutions proposed in UDOT’s Capitol Hill Study

• Scenario 1: Add pedestrian enhancements to State Street between North Temple and 300 North, and removing State Street’s southbound right turn lane at North Temple.
• Scenario 2: Close the I-15 interchange at 400 South. Vehicles would enter northbound I-15 at 500 South and exit southbound I-15 at 600 South.
• Scenario 3: Adjust signal timing at the Victory Road and Beck Street intersection.
• Scenario 4: Convert Main Street to one lane in each direction between North Temple and 300 North.
• Scenario 5: Install a grade-separated pedestrian crossing at Main Street and North Temple.
• Scenario 6: Create a one-way couplet, potentially turning State Street and Main Street into one-way streets in opposite directions. Some two-way access would remain in and around the Capitol Hill area, while a pedestrian scramble — a way to allow pedestrians to cross in any direction during a pause in vehicle traffic — would be installed at North Temple and Main Street.

None of the concepts has been funded, however, and they’d require additional study. Coordination with the city would be required in some cases, which means that the suggestions have a long way to go before becoming a reality. Dupaix said the project is more of a “planning-level study” before more detailed work will begin.

“We’re taking more of a 30,000-foot look at the entire area from I-15 all the way over to the University of Utah to determine where people are going first,” he told KSL.com. “This is just the starting point for a much more in-depth process to really analyze, take into consideration and potentially fund any of these solutions to see what could work.”

Tackling Capitol Hill’s travel

If the area’s traffic patterns and topography aren’t complex enough, different agencies also manage its roads. UDOT and Salt Lake City split many of the key routes, which require planning coordination. Those conversations are usually collaborative, keeping everyone on the same page, Salt Lake City transportation engineer Jon Larsen said.

“These roads are all interconnected,” he said, explaining that some streets are so closely intertwined between city and state ownership that projects don’t start until they’ve talked.

This is why UDOT included the city in conversations when it started its Capitol Hill Study last year. Since then, it and partners like Horrocks Engineers have reviewed the area’s traffic patterns.

They also found that downtown, Capitol Hill, and the University of Utah almost equally split destination traffic, although Capitol Hill traffic unsurprisingly triples during the legislative session. Streets like 600 North, North Temple and 300 West generated the most speed-related crashes, posing the top concerns.

Initial surveys, which collected feedback from over 600 online participants plus responses from people at community events, found that residents would like to reduce commuter traffic that cuts through residential areas, improving walking/biking accessibility and connectivity in the area and increasing public transit access.

All those data points were blended into the concepts displayed Tuesday evening. Project officials believe most scenarios would improve traffic volume or have very little impact on key roads in the area. Still, some of the ideas could negatively impact Main Street, North Temple, and 300 West. 500 South and 600 South could also experience big volume increases with the I-15 change, while 400 South and others would see a big decrease.

The options could add to existing transportation projects proposed for the area, including an expansion of I-15, a fourth TRAX line by the university and a bus rapid transit system between Salt Lake City and Davis County.

They could also be considered in Salt Lake City’s plans for the area. The city still intends to add new bike lanes through a project added to the budget earlier this year.

The proposal to convert Main Street to one lane in each direction, among the UDOT options, was complicated by SB195 this year, a bill requiring the city to work with the state on some projects. However, Larsen said it wasn’t designed yet, much like the other solutions brought to the table Tuesday.

The next steps

Dozens of people attended UDOT’s open house, but the agency is still accepting online public feedback on the six proposals through May 2. Project officials will sort through the feedback and post final recommendations this summer, offering items to study further.

“The ones that seem to rise more to the top we want to bring forward and discuss them with the community,” Dupaix said.