The holidays are here and so is winter and snow!
Check out the Snow Removal resource page at here to read about the priority system for removing snow from city streets and view the snow removal priority street map.
See the snowplows in action in real time here.
Keep this page bookmarked all winter long to keep up on the progress of snow removal in your neighborhood.
One of the effects of the Legislature’s special session addressing the Inland Port law was a deadline for Salt Lake City to establish a zoning plan for the new area. Right now the city is taking public input on the types of zoning restrictions or incentives to be codified.
Besides taking public input online, the city has conducted a number of open houses over the past six weeks. Two more are taking place this month; one took place on September 18th at the City Council and the next is September 26th at 5:30 pm for the Planning Commission. Additional details are provided in the previous here.
This process is the last major step the city has before the development of the Inland Port takes place in earnest. Your feedback is needed and appreciated.
Dry conditions has resulted in Salt Lake City restrictions on this season’s fireworks celebrations. The Fairpark Community is within the area where fireworks will not be permitted this year. Hefty fines will be imposed for violators. Details can be found at the SLC Fire Dept website.
The following list outlines the restrictions as well as fines for violations.
https://slcfire.com/fireworks/
Alternatives to Fireworks
July celebrations can still be enjoyed without fireworks!
Here are some websites that outline alternatives:
Salt Lake is quickly becoming accessible for hikers, walkers and bicyclists with its evolving trail system. Recreationalists can now connect to all areas of the city without having to navigate highways and roads in many spots.
Salt Lake City’s Trail system is part of an overall picture of Utah’s bicycling trail network. The Deseret News, in a June 2nd article entitled Utah is home to longest continuous trail network west of the Mississippi, about the Golden Spoke Bike Trail from Ogden to Provo, addresses the interconnection of trails that includes Salt Lake City.
‘With the conjunction of six trail systems, the Golden Spoke Trail becomes the longest continuous, multi-use urban trail network west of the Mississippi River.With the conjunction of six trail systems, the Golden Spoke Trail becomes the longest continuous, multi-use urban trail network west of the Mississippi River. “You can get on and off the trail wherever and each community along the way ties into it, providing an opportunity for citizens to be engaged and connected to each other and to activities in other cities,” [Commissioner Bret] Millburn said.’
Read the entire article here:
Salt Lake City has provided information to its urban trails by degrees of difficulty and access, from easy to moderate to challenging.
Visit the city website on the trail system here: http://www.slcgov.com/parks-public-lands/salt-lake-city-trails-network
Summer biking is here! Take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities to see the city.
The Westside Music Arts and Food Festival is returning to Sugar Space on June 16th from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Featuring many of the same musicians that made last year such a hit, the 2018 Festival has expanded hours and will feature Changing Lanes Experience as its headline act. Besides longer hours, Festival organizers also received a permit to close 800 West in front of Sugar Space. Over 50 art and information booths will line the street and multiple food trucks will be showcasing their menus. This is an all ages event with free admission.
Conceived last year as a way to showcase positive elements of the Westside, the Festival was a surprise success with multiple vendors and artists who attracted over 500 people in just four hours. With only weeks to prepare last year, this year’s organizers Restore North Temple and the River District Chamber decided to expand both the hours and the venue for 2018. Advanced planning allowed the organizers to receive a grant from Salt Lake City to help fund the 2018 event. “Generous support from Rocky Mountain Power has helped us immensely both years,” said Aaron Ernst of Restore North Temple. Andeavor is the main stage sponsor for 2018. Fairpark Community Council is a proud sponsor of the event providing accounting, logistical and marketing support.
2017’s Festival was a blur of activity with performers ranging from Polynesian drummers to bluesman Danny Weldon to the jazz quartet K-Tones. Dancers, aerialists and magicians entertained the crowd on three different stages while food trucks kept the crowd fed with a variety of delicious food. One attendee remarked last year he had the best tacos he’d ever tasted.
Traditions have to start somewhere and event organizers envisioned last year’s festival to be the start of something that would take place many times over the coming years. It’s telling that all the artists and musicians who were invited back jumped at the opportunity. 2018’s upcoming festival is the next step in the journey. It looks to be bigger, better and more fun than ever before.
Westside Music Art and Food Festival
Free admission!
Saturday June 16th – 11 am to 9 pm
Headline show – 7 pm – Changing Lanes Experience
132 S. 800 W. at Sugar Space
Parking – 200 S.
Take TRAX to Jackson/Euclid stop
Bike valet available
May 5th, 2018
Contacts: Tom King [earth4alllife@gmail.com] (801) 502-1991, Bryce Garner [brycewgarner@gmail.com], Josh Smith [jsfreebird67@gmail.com] (209) 200-0126] & Kevin Robertson [kevinrob4@gmail.com] (385) 312-4136
On May 5th, the neighborhood of Fairpark will be holding its annual Celebration of Spring and Plant Sale at Constitution Park located at 300 N 1300 W from 10 am until 2 pm. The event, which has become a west side staple, features the sale of vegetable and herb plants alongside workshops and community outreach. The types of plants sold will include: 20 varieties of tomato, 16 varieties of sweet and hot pepper, 3 kinds of eggplant, and 6 different herbs. This year, the community will also be providing free garden veggie seed packages (with 30 types of seeds) to plant at home, as well as ‘Snail Cage’ workshop (offering an insiders guide on how to prevent snails from eating small seedlings), and ‘Plant a Seed and Watch It Grow’ children’s activity (which includes free soil, seeds, pots and labels). In an effort to help boost attendance and increase the profile of the event, students from Professor Garcia’s Westside Studio at the University of Utah’s City and Metropolitan Planning Department, will help advertise the event to Westside neighbors, to help foster an atmosphere of inclusion. Utilizing funding sources received from University Neighborhood Partners (UNP), the event will also include a natural climbing wall, suitable for most ages, as well as a nature-oriented scavenger hunt for children. According to UNP, each of these additional activities promote the organization’s principle goal of “a community coming together.”
The event is being organized by Fairpark community council member Tom King. King has stressed the importance of ensuring the event promotes awareness of the environment and the impact it has on our lives. A “lot of families like mine have been planting vegetable gardens at home. Edible gardens are not only a great way of producing local food, while supporting healthier living, but also the advancing of regional sustainability. Gardening reconnects us with nature. I am a gardener, who loves sharing this wisdom with others.”
Figure 1. Tom King who propagated all the plants for sale at the All Chay Restaurant
The plant sale itself is the central feature of the day and emblemizes the positive effects of ecological integration within the local built environment. Workshops and activities seek to educate attendees (in an active way) on the role plants contribute in helping our communities both built and natural thrive, while enjoying fresh air and lively engagement. Local organization booths will include:
Lead Safe Housing Program, Northwest Recreation Center, Mother’s Milk Bank, Neighborworks, Utah State University Extension Service.
Other organizations may join but have not yet been confirmed. Both the Rose Park and Poplar Grove neighborhoods will also be sponsoring booths at the event to promote involvement with their community councils. They will also be assisted by Westside Studio students, helping to stock and operate the booths. The inclusion of these booths is designed to promote integration of Westside neighborhoods, while providing opportunity for attendees to learn more about various events occurring within their communities.
University of Utah students, alongside UNP contributions, are seeking to not only promote environmental health, but also community well-being. Celebration of Spring events provide an opportunity for neighbors to gather together and build a sense of belonging and involvement within a social setting.
By offering additional activities to the public the festival hopes to bring in a large, diverse array of people to enjoy a beautiful spring day with each other.
The event is free and open to the public.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact:
Tom King: 801-502-1991
The SLC Mobile App is an application available in theA p ple or Android app store. It is an online and mobile issue reporting and service request system for Salt Lake
City. The app is easy to use to report known issues, and yo uc an follow the progress the city is making on resolving those issues. The app will use your GPS location and you can take a picture with your phone of the issue and upload it when
reporting.
There are a number of issue types that can be reported through the app: biking issues, construction concerns, crimetips, crosswalk maintenance, drinking water, graffiti removal,holiday tree pickup, illegal dumping of trash, leaf collection,
missing garbage lid, leaf collection, parking, plant /trees, pot hole, public utility issue, parks, roadway cleanup, roadwaypaint, sewer, sidewalks and ramps, snow/ice removal,speeding prevention, storm water, street lights, street signs,traffic signal, trash/recycle/compost bin, vehicle (expired tag), vehicle violation, water, water conservation, water in street, and weed abatement. If what you are reporting is
an emergency with someone in danger, please call 911 for dispatch.
Information about the Salt Lake Mobile App is a static feature on our website, on the left sidebar.
Neighbor Cleanup has been part of Salt Lake for more than 20 year. It has been a great way for residents to help keep their yard and homes clean. However, it will come as no surprise to anyone who lives on the west side that the current program leaves something to be desired. For us it has often been a period of weeks with piles of trash 
left on the street.
After an intensive public outreach campaign last year and a survey with over 4,000 responses the city is changing how the program works. Starting this summer the city is adopting a “Call 2 Haul” program. Starting sometime around the middle of June, and continuing year round, each house in the city will be able to call and schedule their own day to have bulk waste removed.
We are excited to how the new program works. Please talk to your neighbors and let them know about the new system. We are very hopeful that “Call 2 Haul” will help keep our streets looking much better this summer.
To learn more and see the results of the survey check out this link http://www.slcgreen.com/c2h
Next time you need a ride, you don’t have your bicycle, and have the urge to call a cab or Lyft, consider a bike taxi. Or if you are holding an event or would like a scenic ride through town, a bike taxi may be for you!
Bike taxi is the layman’s term for “pedicab”. One might wonder what it takes to be a pedicab driver. It’s more than you would think. We searched the web and discovered that operating a pedicab isn’t cut out for everyone.. According to Salt Lake Cycle Club “it is a job which requires a great deal of maturity, physical strength, street smarts, and an intimate knowledge of the city’s layout.” We also found useful information on the site “Money Crashers” (https://www.moneycrashers.com/pedicab-driving-how-it-works-earnings-potential-pros-cons/), where it describes that Pedicabs typically weigh about 300 pounds when empty, and can carry more than 300 pounds of passenger weight, according.. “To make it easier to start from a dead stop, pedicabs generally have 21 gears or more.” Some pedicabs have backup electric or gas motors to assist drivers with fully loaded vehicles. There are municipalities that ban pedicabs with motors, Salt Lake Cycle Club uses solar powered lithium batteries to assist the human power it takes to navigate steeper grades and full loads.
The article provides details about operating a pedicab business, different types of drivers, and the pros and cons of working as a pedicab driver.
While using pedicabs are generally good for the environment, they can be a bit pricey.
Salt Lake City has a growing number of eco-friendly taxi options to get you around town. We found two, each one with unique services and approaches to pedicabbing.
Salt Lake City Bike Taxi Company – http://www.slcbiketaxi.com
This company has a “fleet” of bike taxis for 2-3 people each. Their specialities is city/historic tours and weddings. They also will serve a variety of events.
Salt Lake City Cycle Club – http://saltcitycyclecab.com/
Offering rides “anywhere you want to go”, this company offers city tours and transportation to parties. They also can transport you on bar crawls downtown. “You can have fun,get good and sauced, and beat last call with a private team of pedicabs speeding you around the many scattered bars in our downtown district.” Using the slogan “We ride because we care,” they consider themselves as stewards of the planet and will ride in any kind of weather. Now that’s dedication.
