Safety improvements coming to 600/700N next year, city says
Dec 6, 2024, 3:26 PM
(FILE) - A metal sign for the Rose Park neighborhood. (KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
SALT LAKE CITY — Final plans for road and safety improvements on 600/700 North in Rose Park are finished and will be implemented in 2025, the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office said.
“Reconstructing 600/700 North provides something for everyone, including families who walk to school, friends biking to the Jordan River Trail, or commuters using cars or public transit,” said Salt Lake City Transportation Engineer Kyle Cook in a press release.
Cook said the new and improved road will include features like upgraded traffic signals, raised bike lanes and signalized pedestrian crosswalks. The improvements will not only make travel more convenient, but also emphasize safety for both drivers and pedestrians.
“Making roads as safe as possible for everyone is our top priority,” said Salt Lake City Engineer Megan Leether.
The press release said engineers looked at crash data from that stretch of road — which sees upwards of 21,000 vehicle trips a day — to try to determine what safety upgrades were necessary. They found that 75% of accidents there happened in intersections.
“During construction, the road will be narrowed with the addition of a center median alongside chicanes — strategic curves in the roadway — to create a more predictable environment that has the benefit of slowing down speeding drivers,” Leether said in the press release. “Separating cyclists from the road by putting them next to the sidewalk, not traffic, and adding high-visibility, signalized crosswalks are additional safety upgrades set to debut next year.”
The engineers said the final design reflects public comments made early in the development process all the way back in 2020.
“It’s not often that we can do almost everything the community is asking for on a road project, but the 600/700 North rebuild gives us the opportunity to build the best of all options and invest in the community now and for generations to come,” Cook said.
The Mayor’s Office said the public is invited to show up and see all the details of the final design at Backman Elementary School, 601 North 1500 West, on Tuesday, Dec. 10 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Team members will be answering questions in both English and Spanish, they said.
