Salt Lake City Announces Opening Of ‘Stay Safe, Stay Active’ Streets

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced the city will start to temporarily open some “Stay Safe, Stay Active” streets to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, allowing people to recreate at a safe distance from one another.

The mayor’s office said the streets will begin opening Thursday, April 23.

“We’re excited to be able to give people some extra room to be able to get out and recreate at a safe distance from others,” Mayor Erin Mendenall said. “As it’s getting warmer, we all want to get outside. We want everyone to feel like they have the space to exercise and recreate at a safe distance from one another, and this is an innovative and easy way to do it when our main parks are so full.”

According to the press release, the first street to open will be 500 North, from approximately Redwood Road to 800 West.

This is an exciting first! 500 North from Redwood Road to 800 West will be temporarily opened up to community recreation beginning tmrw 🏃🏻‍♀️ 🚴🏽‍♀️🚴🏼‍♂️ Drivers should avoid the street except to access homes or businesses. Get out and safely enjoy this additional open space! #utpol #slc pic.twitter.com/7KU6r1VhLZ

— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 22, 2020

The announcement was made following a week-long survey in which city residents provided feedback on which streets they wanted to use for recreational purposes.

“Factors that helped determined which streets to open included survey responses, geographic equity, connections to parks and trails, hospital/emergency routes, transit routes and traffic patterns,” the press release continued.

Drivers have been asked to drive slowly and with extra caution as they travel along these streets.

Officials will announce more street openings next week.

Updates can be found on the city’s website.