The Salt Lake Valley is known for a high quality of life due in part to our renowned outdoor recreation opportunities. Recreating in nature boosts quality of life by encouraging discovery, exploration, socialization, stewardship, and physical activity. Greenways carry people, on foot or wheels and along trails or in the water, to increase quality of life, activity, and livability.
Existing Trails, Bike Lanes, & Amenities [01]
Vision
Expanding RECREATION & Increasing Walkability
Efforts are already underway to create trails and recreation opportunities along our seven creeks. Access on public lands provides attractive, safe, and comfortable places for residents of all ages and abilities to enjoy creeks and trails. Stream daylighting can increase this access. Anglers can cast a line in our urban streams and in-river recreation opportunities are possible where water depth is sufficient. Greenways support active lifestyles and encourage exercise to improve public health and quality-of-life.
Goals
Promote safety through maintenance and design.
Create unique and diverse opportunities for interaction, such as angling, water recreation, community gardening, wildlife watching, and other trail-based activities.
Improve infrastructure and connectivity for all users, ages, and abilities—on a variety of surfaces.
Opportunity Areas
Opportunity Areas
Big Idea
Wasatch Hollow to Westminster
Category: 10-Year
City: Salt Lake City
Typology: Parks & Open Space
Creek: Emigration
Stream Length: 1.8 miles
Buried: 0.4 miles
Impaired: 1.4 miles
Estimated Cost: $8-12M
A string of parks and open spaces exist along Emigration Creek between Wasatch Hollow and Westminster College. The 1992 Open Space Plan imagined a paved trail extending from the Bonneville Golf Course to Westminster College and connecting into the McClelland Trail. With Salt Lake City’s recent $7.5-million acquisition of Allen Park, this vision is nearly possible [02]. There are two miles of contiguous, accessible, and preserved riparian ecosystem between Wasatch Hollow, Blaine Natural Area, Allen Park, and Westminster College. However, some private property still exists along this stretch.
Paved and soft-surface trails would link parks and recreational opportunities. Private property conflicts could be solved through access agreements or utilizing neighborhood by-ways on public rights-of-way. Riparian restoration would improve habitat value, recreate a floodplain, and remove aging and unnecessary culverts, dams, and infrastructure that impact creek health. Access at key locations would provide opportunities for engagement and angling. Bank stabilization would alleviate incised and eroding banks.
There are many community anchor institutions along this reach, including Westminster College, Garfield School, Clayton Middle, and several churches. Programming could involve them in meaningful, on-the-ground activities to improve our creeks. In addition, Allen Park serves as a community destination along the corridor. With Salt Lake City’s acquisition, the property was saved from development. Partners are working on a plan to reimagine this unique location as a community amenity. Restoration of Emigration Creek and a series of trails could provide a means to appreciate the creek, discover the many artworks, and learn about the legacy of Dr. George Allen and his family.
Next Steps
Inventory parcels adjacent to the corridor to prioritize purchase of properties or easements to facilitate goals.
Meet with willing landowners to discuss the vision and facilitate partnerships.
Design and implement goals on public lands, utilizing neighborhood by-ways for on-street connections.
Implement wayfinding signage to demarcate the trail and build a brand for the Emigration Creek Trail to build support for further connections.
Strategies
Partner with nearby community institutions, including Clayton Middle, Garfield School, and Westminster College, for education and stewardship of the creek.
Restore riparian habitat and stream meanders, recreate a floodplain, and develop opportunities for fishing.
Link a trail through existing parks and open spaces.
Reimagine Allen Park as a space for art and community programming.
Connect the Emigration Creek Trail to the McCelland Trail.
Sources
Utah Division of Water Resources, Jordan River Basin planning for the future: Utah state water plan (2010); Utah Automated Geographic Reference Guide, Trails and Trailheads, Golf, Civic, and Parks datasets (2021); Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, Midvale, and Salt Lake City, Trails and Parks datasets(2021); Salt Lake County and Wasatch Front Regional Council, Active Transportation Implementation Plan datasets (2021); and United States National Park Service, Historic Trails (2021).
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City Under Contract to Purchase Allen Park Using Impact Fees (2020).