"Salt Lake City and Downtown Alliance are hopeful to produce Open Streets-a walkable Main Street demonstration-again in 2023 in September and October," said Andrew Wittenberg, spokesman for the Mayor's Office. While the city government is formally studying the feasibility of permanently transforming Main Street to a pedestrian-first promenade, the COVID-era emergency orders that made Open Streets possible in the short term have since expired, putting the near-term future of the Main Street project on shaky ground. The past three summers have seen Salt Lakers and downtown guests taking to the streets on weekends thanks to a temporary road closure and retail encouragement program known as Open Streets on Main.īut pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, shoppers, sidewalk diners and street performers will have to wait until the cooler months of fall-at the earliest-for the next taste of car-free living downtown. Salt Lakers enjoy a car-free Main Street during Open Streets on Main.Those grants, if finalized, would follow additional federal funding awarded to Salt Lake City to study options for reconnecting the east and west sides of the city, an effort that could lead to a project like the Rio Grande Plan. In addition to state funding, it was also announced this month that Utah had been prioritized for federal grants in support of double-tracking FrontRunner and constructing a new bus rapid transit (BRT) line in Salt Lake County. But state lawmakers declined to consider the proposal, preferring instead to fund the construction of a new FrontRunner station in Draper and the ongoing double-tracking of the FrontRunner line, which when complete would allow for trains to run at 15-minute intervals. Spencer Cox called for a full year of free transit fares to study the impact on road congestion, air quality and transit use. Prior to the recent legislative session, Gov. But despite the success of the Free Fare February pilot, it was only partially repeated in 2023, overtly as a means for absorbing the downtown crowds generated by the NBA All-Star Game. The free fare experiment came one year after UTA partnered with Salt Lake City to offer a full month of no-cost transit. And more than 5,000 riders took FrontRunner that day, but no comparison is available as UTA typically doesn't offer FrontRunner services on Sundays. 19, TRAX carried more than 26,000 riders, compared to less than 10,000 the Sunday prior, the data show. Beyond eliminating fares, UTA ran Green Line trains to the airport into the early morning-a boon for city residents or downtown guests traveling at inconvenient hours-adjusted its high-frequency bus routes in the city center and offered Sunday FrontRunner service, typically a critical gap in the state's weekend transit network. "Hundreds of UTA volunteers helped visitors make their way to venues across Salt Lake City and beyond."Įxpanded services likely contributed to the uptick as well. "UTA was proud to be part of a successful NBA All-Star event, including providing zero fare for a simple, enjoyable rider experience," UTA Board of Trustees Chairman Carlton Christensen said in a prepared statement. But the ridership gains were most pronounced on the weekends and for passenger rail services, with Saturday train ridership more than tripling between Feb. 21, when fares were waived systemwide in response to an influx of visitors to the capitol city for NBA All-Star events.Īccording to preliminary figures obtained through a public records request, UTA's network saw an uptick of more than 171,000 rides during the 10-day free fare period, which translates to an overall increase of roughly 22% compared to baseline figures. The number of riders on Utah Transit Authority's TRAX and FrontRunner trains jumped by more than 40% between Feb. ![]() ![]() 21, when UTA offered free-fare services around the NBA All-Star Game. TRAX and FrontRunner ridership surged between Feb.
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