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Sugar House Journal

What happened to the plans for 2100 South?

Aug 31, 2017 16h29 ● By Jana Klopsch

Plans were in place to change the 2100 South section between 2300 East and 1700 East, but neighbors in that area fought against it. (Natalie Mollinet/City Journals)

By Natalie Mollinet | [email protected]

Back in June, the Salt Lake City Council talked about redesigning the street layout on 2100 South between 1700 East and 2300 East. The change would have made one lane, one-way traffic with a center lane for left turns as well as an added bike lane on each side of the street. The council decided to get community input from the Sugar House community first, and the responses they received were divided, so the council deliberated and came up with a decision. 

After responses from the community, Salt Lake City Council Member Lisa Adams sent an email out to let the public know, “... after careful consideration and based on the community input we received over the last month, the administration had decided not to pursue a change in lane configuration on 2100 South at this time.”  

“The feedback we received from the community was very split about whether the street should be reconfigured or left as is,” the council said on their website. The council was contacted via phone calls, emails, letters, social media, and at open houses. The council received more than 1,500 comments making it the most responded to project on the online Open City Hall page. 

“The Transportation Division had recommended the changes be made to improve safety on the roadway as well as reflect the intent of existing master plan,” Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski wrote. “Understanding that these changes could cause concern with residents, and knowing your opinions on the issue, I personally asked Transportation to begin a public outreach effort to get feedback specifically on this project.” 

The Journal spoke to people who were against the changes on 2100 South, saying it would make it more difficult to cross streets especially for elementary school kids coming from Dilworth. According to the Open City Hall page poll, many people surveyed under 50 years old preferred the new design, while those over 60 wanted to keep the existing four lanes. The most opposition for the change came from area codes 84108 and 84109, while those who leaned toward the change came from 84105 and 84106. 

“Even with an abbreviated window of time, this outreach effort was one of the most successful public engagements in city history, and Transportation should be applauded for their efforts,” Biskupski wrote. 

Businesses along 2100 South however, were largely in favor for the reduced lane changes, because it would have provided easier access to their buildings. According to the SLC Transportation Department, the changes would have also decreased crashes by 30 percent, including bike accidents. There were some cons to the change as it would have caused more congestion in rush hour and possibly more speeding from wider lanes. According to the responses, many people were more concerned about the congestion on the neighborhood roads and bottlenecking. 

“As was to be expected, some of the conversation surrounded the addition of bike lanes on the roadway,” Biskupski wrote. “The responses were split among those who ride bikes and those who don’t.” 

The questions on the Open City Hall page asked whether people frequently drove on 2100 South and how they traveled along the street. 

“Based on these responses, the adopted master plans and information provided by our experts in Transportation, I believe the city needs to do further outreach to explain the benefits of a complete streets concept on this and other roadways,” Biskupski wrote. “We also need to develop comprehensive plans for the length of 2100 South rather than taking a piecemeal approach with changes.” 

2100 South was resurfaced during July.