The Green Loop, a key pillar of Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s campaign for a second term, is hitting some speed bumps.
This month, west-side City Council members expressed reservations about funding construction costs for the green space that would circle downtown and recently asked the mayor’s administration for additional information about the proposal, which is part of the city’s capital improvement program.
After a July 9 council meeting, the Public Lands Department reduced its funding request from $10 million to $3 million and cut promises to use the money on construction.
Officials said the city still intends to throw $10 million at the first portion of the project. Instead of tapping the capital improvement budget for the full cost, officials now plan to use money earmarked for utilities and road upgrades to fund construction once the design of a section along 500 West is complete. This, they say, is a more efficient use of city dollars.
One powerful council member questioned the timing of the initial request.
“Conceptually, I think this is a wonderful thing. I think it’s something our city should have,” Council Chair Victoria Petro, who represents the northern half of the west side, said at the meeting. “I am struggling with the timing of it and justifying why now, during an $85 million [general obligation] bond, where other projects have been prioritized. I am open to being convinced, and I know we have some briefings and other things that will lay the groundwork, but until I have those, I continue to be skeptical of the timing.”
Mendenhall has made the Green Loop a priority as she looks to refocus downtown on being friendlier to families.
Her administration had proposed spending just under a quarter of the more than $40 million budgeted for capital improvements citywide on the project’s construction. In the application for funding, project leaders said the early investment would “allow the city to accomplish” Mendenhall’s goal of “beginning to implement the Green Loop before the end of her second term.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Green Loop project in Salt Lake City is set to get some capital funding dollars. Pictured is the southwest corner of the Green Loop rectangle at 900 South and 500 West on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, along the 9-Line Trail.
That initial funding request included costs of design and construction for an unspecified portion of the project. The scaled-back request would use capital improvement funding only on design for a segment of the loop along 500 West from 500 South to 900 South. Council members have until Sept. 1 to decide whether to approve the request.
Green Loop top of mind for Mendenhall
In her State of the City address in January, Mendenhall described turning asphalt into green space along the wide roads of downtown as “transformational.” The most recent maps for the project show it would mostly run on 200 East, North Temple, 900 South and 500 West. The linear park, akin to The High Line in New York City or Atlanta’s BeltLine, would connect to the west side via the 9 Line and Folsom trails.
(Salt Lake City) The map, released by the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, shows how the proposed Green Loop would connect to the west side and its routing downtown.
The project calls for the construction of walking paths, protected bike lanes and park amenities along each of the boundary streets. The initial application for funds also noted that utilities would have to be connected to the green strip.
In the city’s fiscal 2025 budget, the council allocated more than $215,000 for a new senior adviser position to lead downtown projects like the Green Loop, the new sports and entertainment district and the Main Street promenade.
The city has also already spent almost a million dollars on concept designs for the Green Loop segment along 200 East and a pop-up demonstration last summer that showed how the project could look along that stretch.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A cyclist rides the 9-Line Trail along 900 South in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
Mendenhall hopes the city can complete the Green Loop in time for the all-but-certain 2034 return of the Winter Olympics.
Mendenhall’s capital projects proposal
The City Council has yet to vote on Mendenhall’s full slate of capital improvement projects but has received three briefings on the plans.
Council member Alejandro Puy, who represents the southern half of the west side, told city staffers that he needed more information about how the administration plans to build out the green corridor.
“Many of us are on different levels of knowledge of this,” Puy said. “Maybe this could trigger some small group meetings to not only set the historical context … but also understand the administration’s vision on this and how they plan to move forward.”
Officials said 500 West is rising in priority for construction because the city will be able to get some private investment for designing and building that portion. The city intends to complete the project in phases, prioritizing sections based on existing tree coverage, roadway conditions and technical feasibility.
Other projects in Mendenhall’s proposed funding for capital improvements include urgent repairs at Memory Grove Park, steps toward restoring the Liberty Park greenhouse and upgrades along the Jordan River Trail.
