Salt Lake City community continues pushing for traffic calming devices
Aug 19, 2025, 11:09 AM
A traffic speed sign displays the drivers' speed on 600 North and about 1100 West in Salt Lake City on Feb. 18, 2004. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Eight community councils around Salt Lake City are seeking increased traffic calming efforts in their neighborhoods, and Liberty Wells is one of them.
The Liberty Wells community has requested $350,000 from the Salt Lake City Council’s Capital Improvement Program budget to help fund traffic calming devices.
“That was to put speed humps and bumps on 300 East, 400 East, and 600 East, between 1700 South and 2100 South,” said Jeff Bair of the Liberty Wells Community Council. “Residents don’t feel safe in their own neighborhoods. And we have traffic feedback boards that flash the speed. Our speed limit is 20 miles an hour, and that board is regularly flashing 30, 40 and even 50.”
Bair said people often use their streets to avoid traffic on 7th East and State Street. He said for 18 years the community has asked for stop signs, speed bumps and traffic circles to slow down that traffic, but they were turned down every time.
“Never once did they come back and say, ‘Well, no, we don’t do that, but how about we try this?’ Not once did a representative from the transportation department or the city come back with an option.”
The Council is expected to adopt a $55 million budget for capital improvements on Tuesday night, but Bair said he isn’t hopeful that their request will be approved.
Contributing: Michelle Lee
Read more: Funding approved for Lehi traffic study to ease congestion
