9/12/2022 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD
Minutes of the September 12, 2022 Meeting
Present from the Transportation Advisory Board were Courtney Reeser, Dave Alderman,
Greg Sanchez, Jim Espeland, and Jon Larsen.
Electronically present from the Transportation Advisory Board were Danny Houpt,
Ellen Reddick, Jenn Diederich,Johnnae Nardone, Leo Masic, Paul Schulte, Reid Ewing,
and Suzanne Stensaas.
Absent from the Transportation Advisory Board were Daniel Mendoza, Myron Willson,
and Tyler Schmidt.
Electronically present Stacey Luna, Nick Norris, Lara Handwerker, and Lynn Jacobs.
The meeting was held both electronically and in person and was called to order at 4:03
p.m. by Courtney Reeser.
Welcome and Introduction of Guests — Courtney welcomed everyone.
Public Comment — There was no public comment.
Motion: Jim Espeland moved to approve the minutes of the August 1, 2022 meeting.
Dave Alderman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Sidewalk Width Discussion
Jon Larsen, SLC Transportation&Nick Norris, SLC Planning Division
Jon said sidewalk width is determined by zoning code so the location determines what is
required. One of the challenges with new developments is that the developers are only
required to change the section in front of their project so sometimes there is a sidewalk
mismatch which can be a challenge. The default minimum width of a sidewalk is five
feet although they often ask developers to do six feet. Main Street downtown is 10 feet
and the rest of downtown is 8 feet. On the industrial west side, sidewalk is only required
on one side since the current pedestrian volumes are low but there are special sections
in that area that differ. Sidewalks are maintained by the adjacent property owner except
within the CBD area where the property owners pay a maintenance surcharge which
pays for a CBD crew. Suzanne asked if there is a different required width when it is a
shared sidewalk with bicycles, or scooters. She thinks there should be a standard for
shared sidewalks, as wider sidewalks along with trees are needed. Johnnae asked what
Transportation needed from the board and for an example of what type of building
would get a bigger sidewalk and what would get a smaller one. Jon said his
understanding is that it has less to do with the building size and more to do with the
zoning location within the city. Nick Norris explained some of the standards and
differences and how the developer requirements are determined. The standards are set
in code but they have some flexibility for unique situations. Reid wrote the Flexible
Design of New Jersey's Main Streets and he believes the minimum was 6 feet with 10
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feet preferred. He said you have to consider wheelchairs doing a 36o degree turn and
what is comfortable for a pair of people walking together. Lynn said the barebones
minimum for a multi-use path is 8 feet but they prefer at least io. Suzanne said outside
the CBD, everyone uses bicycles on the sidewalks and it's got to be at least 6 feet or
people cannot safely pass pedestrians while riding a bicycle. She also said there is an
issue in Sugarhouse where they're putting in huge apartments, the sidewalks are gone
and the kids are starting school. Sugar House pressured a builder to put a sidewalk up
for the kids but when it's complete, those should all be at least io feet with kids using
them and traffic signals. It may not be the code but she asked what the Board can do to
lobby for, enforce, and require builders to put in io foot sidewalks as it would be doing
the public a favor. Nick said he believed that project will be io feet once completed.
Johnnae asked how they can spur an update to code. Courtney said they can come up
with a letter proposing this as the new minimum and send it to Planning and
Engineering. Jon said it is helpful when TAB writes a letter of support and Courtney
said she'll come up with a letter once she has clarified the code. Reid suggested they
check the NACTO Streets Design Guide. Leo shared his screen as the discussion about
sidewalk widths had him thinking about the advantages there already are in the city.
There are plentiful separations between the sidewalk and the road in many places with
big park strips and that can be degraded when the sidewalks are made bigger
diminishing the park strip. There was a question about missing/degraded sidewalks
within the city and Jon said he would look into that. Jim asked who they contact for
trees/bushes overgrown on the sidewalk and Greg said he can report it on the SLC
Mobile app.
Sugar House Projects/Timing&Coordination
Lynn Jacobs, SLC Transportation
Lynn gave a presentation on the upcoming road construction in the Sugar House area.
The city is spending around $30 million on road projects in this area primarily because
the infrastructure there is really old. These upcoming projects are on McClelland Street
in early 2023, iioo East/Highland Drive from 2023-2024, 13oo East in 2024, 2100
South from 2024-2025, and 170o East in 2025. He went through the details, public
engagement, and concerns of each project.
Orphan Assets — Letter of Support
Transportation Advisory Board Members
Within the last decade, the city has begun to aggressively expand protected, enhanced
bicycle networks as well as pedestrian enhancements,but a great structure has never
been developed to maintain those. Transportation has asked for funding multiple times
to hire contractors to help take care of some of these assets as the city doesn't have the
equipment to maintain them along with other multi-modal elements. They are referred
to as orphan assets because they don't have a Departmental "home" once they're built.
Jon said it may be slightly premature to send a letter of support but it is a good time to
discuss this and make a draft letter. The current challenges with maintenance and
needed funding were discussed by the Board. Public Services would be who would ask
for the funding and a letter from TAB to the Mayor and City Council might be helpful.
Courtney will begin a letter of support for funding to maintain these items for the Board
to review.
Motion: Jim Espeland motioned to adjourn the meeting; Suzanne Stensaas seconded
the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
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The meeting was adjourned at 5:32 p.m. and the next meeting of the Board was
scheduled for October 3, 2022.
Approved by Transportation Advisory Board 10-03-22.
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