From the Indigenous Peoples and original inhabitants of the Salt Lake Valley, to the colonial settlers, and beyond to modern society, our creeks are the lifeblood of our cities. They are important areas of activation in our communities and connect us to place in this oasis on desert’s edge. Greenways carry people to parks, open spaces, and civic, commercial, and recreational nodes throughout the Valley—allowing us all to prosper.
Existing Activation Points along the Seven Greenways [01]
Vision
Activating & Connecting our URBAN Areas
The Salt Lake Valley and our cities are experiencing tremendous growth, an additional 600,000 people by 2065 [02]. As urbanization continues, our creek corridors are increasingly important areas for connection, activity, recreation, entertainment, and solitude. Greenways sell homes, increase property values and business revenues, and improve quality-of-life. Developments along the greenways, where appropriate, can help build the system through trail creation, stream restoration, and daylighting.
Goals
Create opportunities for connection at civic, commercial, and recreation activation points to increase awareness and enjoyment of our creeks.
Reclaim underutilized land to connect the greenways and create stream-side amenities.
Improve air quality and minimize heat island effects by increasing the urban forest, stream restoration, and daylighting.
Incentivize developers to help build the greenways through creation of trails, open space, stream restoration, and daylighting.
Increase connectivity between active transportation networks, public transit, and the greenways.
Opportunity Areas
Opportunity Areas
Big Idea
Fort Union to Wheeler Farm
Category: 100-Year
City: Cottonwood Heights, Midvale, & Murray
Typology: Urban & Commercial
Creek: Little Cottonwood
Stream Length: 1.9 miles
Buried: 0.2 miles
Impaired: 1.7 miles
Estimated Cost: $5-10M
Fort Union features a major commercial node in the heart of the Salt Lake Valley. The urban-style high-rise development and suburban-style mall features a natural stretch of Little Cottonwood Creek. With no trail, little programmed space along the creek, and adjacent large surface parking lots, the creek is undervalued and degraded.
Paved and soft-surface trails along the creek would promote healthy lifestyles and increase active transportation connections in an environment dominated by automobiles. They would connect Fort Union to surrounding neighborhoods and, with a connection over the barrier created by Interstate-215, to Wheeler Farm.
More space allotted to the creek, riparian buffer, and floodplain would improve habitat value and flood mitigation. Unused parking lots could be transformed into additional park space. Green infrastructure, such as bio-swales along large parking lots and permeable pavement, would prevent urban runoff from entering the creek and filter out pollutants. Culverts that impact creek health should be replaced with bridges, whenever feasible.
Gathering spaces and outdoor dining areas, overlooking the creek, would provide amenities for visitors and tenants. Amenities, such as interpretive signage, nature play areas, and entertainment spaces, would create unique experiences to transform the center into a multi-use destination and community asset.
Next Steps
Inventory parcels adjacent to the corridor to prioritize purchase of properties or easements to facilitate goals.
Meet with the Utah Department of Transportation and other willing landowners to discuss the vision and facilitate partnerships.
Create a policy that requires (or incentivizes) developers contribute to goals.
Strategies
Create a trail connection and daylight Little Cottonwood Creek on the existing Interstate-215 overpass to connect neighborhoods and the Shops at Fort Union to Wheeler Farm.
Turn extra parking lots into green space with riparian habitat, restore the floodplain and channel meanders, and integrate green infrastructure, such as bioswales and permeable paving.
Sources
Wasatch Front Regional Council, Civic and Commercial Activation Points datasets (2021); and Utah Automated Geographic Reference Center, Recreation Activation Points (2021).
Perlich, Utah’s Long-Term Demographic and Economic Projections Summary (2017).