Utilize the excessive width of our streets
By narrowing excessively wide local and arterial streets, creating medians, adding walk/bikeways, etc. can have the effect of traffic calming and can lead to safer, more multi-functional streets. The reclaimed space could be used for many social, economic and artistic opportunities. Sidewalks could be widened and street vendors/food carts/open markets could make efficient use the space. Restaurants and stores may extend business into the street with patio and other kinds of seating or displays and architectural features. Landscaped medians and extended sidewalks provide additional shade and color, crossing/walking/lingering opportunities, as well as lending character and identity. Implications for public art are obvious here. Think of classic neighborhoods such as 9th & 9th and the old Granite shopping district.
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Patrick Hutchings commented
I suggest that the priority, for street narrowing, be the creation of cycle tracks. Cycle tracks provide the greatest amount of safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and automobile users. They also provide the greatest sense of safety, which is what we need to create if we want to encourage ridership by the average person and persons of mixed abilities. Cycle tracks should be located between sidewalks and parked cars. There should be a buffer zone between the cycle track and the parked cars. Utilizing our wide streets for this purpose would allow Salt Lake City to develop cycle tracks on all downtown streets. Creating the nation's most complete downtown bicycling infrastructure.