"One of the first Salt Lake Solutions community projects will emerge in the Euclid neighborhood of our city. In that neighborhood, there is a beautiful historic Victorian home—the Fisher Mansion—built on the bank of the Jordan River. The city acquired the property through a purchase to complete a segment of the Jordan River Trail. The Fisher Mansion project potentially meets multiple community objectives: advancing historic
preservation, tying together our waterways and urban trails network, expanding cultural
offerings, showcasing environmental stewardship, and offering public access via bus from
TRAX and a bike path. Ultimately, this facility offers a great opportunity for our city,
neighborhood residents, visitors and local businesses.
............
We are blessed with majestic mountains, ribbons of rivers and streams, and a progressive
approach to the use of energy in our buildings and transportation system. To optimize our assets
for our quality of life and economic opportunities, I want to see Salt Lake City rapidly take giant
steps forward.
I will accelerate the planning and funding for Salt Lake Bikeways. Among the new bikeways,
Salt Lake City will have a dedicated bikeway for City Creek to the Jordan River and west to the
airport.
I will ramp up action on the Jordan River: parkway completion, a trail the length of the river in
Salt Lake City, and restoration of the river corridor. The valley-wide effort needs our full
participation, and we need to think long-term about making the Jordan River watershed a model
for ecological restoration and a pleasing amenity for our residents and visitors. Since I’ve been
talking about the Jordan River during the campaign and through the transition to my new
position, volunteers have flooded my office, and I’m excited to leverage our City resources with
actions by other communities along the Jordan River, our residents, the State of Utah and the
federal government. An action plan will be forthcoming to detail our steps to success.
.............
To address air quality and climate change we will move aggressively forward with rail and
transit programs, enhancing our neighborhood service centers and creating a bikeway system that
enables commuters, families, and recreationists to move through our City safely and
comfortably.
............
The elements of the plans that need our attention include the creation of a downtown cultural
district, preservation of the Utah Theater and development of a Broadway-style Performing Arts
Center; creation of a year-round Public Market; working with the state of Utah for a Global
Exchange Place; the creation of a Downtown Parking Authority; initiation of a downtown transit
circulator system; capitalizing on the completion of commuter rail from the north and our
Intermodal Hub Central Station providing bike lockers, bike rental facilities and a safe bikeway
system downtown; and developing, in conjunction with the University of Utah, an extension of
the campus to our downtown and along the transit lines of University Boulevard (400 South)
with research, classroom and housing facilities in a manner that is compatible with existing
neighborhoods."
- Bike Related Excerpts From Mayor Becker's State of the City Address Jan. 15, 2008 with added links where appropriate.
..and one last word from Rocky - >
Rocky's regrets:
Not designating separate bicycle paths and devoting too little one-on-one time to the City Council.
"We could be the foremost bicycling community if we could take those measures," he says, suggesting Mayor-elect Ralph Becker and the new City Council push bike paths.
-SLC Trib.
So now we have an audience, lets get out and bike so they know we exist and they we too, have a voice. I too think we have the potential to be an amazing bicycling community. I visited Portland and remember thinking, these streets are too narrow, these one ways too confusing, I miss cycling in SLC. While Portland is amazing, and we will never be able to be them, I believe Salt Lake City with its wide streets and progressive nature can become one of the best bicycling locations in the United States. Ryan had me sold long ago on his article when he mentioned it being potentially the year of the bike, and as I look at all the change for good in bicycling in SLC, I know it is the Year of the Bike.
