City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan Completed!
Authored by Brian Tonetti
The Seven Canyons Trust and Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency have completed the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan, the culmination of a two-year process to envision City Creek and additional improvements along the Folsom Trail between 700 and 1000 West in Salt Lake City. Now, we are tasked with building momentum and raising funds to implement the vision!
The Seven Canyons Trust, in partnership with the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, has completed the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan—a community-based vision for City Creek and additional improvements along the Folsom Trail between 700 West and 1000 West in the Poplar Grove neighborhood of Salt Lake City. This plan follows the City Creek Daylighting Feasibility Study published in June 2020. CRSA, in partnership with BIO-WEST and Avenue Consultants, were selected to assist with the creation of the plan.
The City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan began with the existing conditions and technical analysis phase. An online and intercept survey engaged 265 neighborhood residents and businesses to collect trail usage, improvement priorities, and project concerns. The 2020 Feasibility Study identified additional technical data needed to inform this design plan. Water quality and flow sampling helped design the future City Creek channel. Soil testing data gauged potential contamination locations and future mitigation strategies.
The second phase was community engagement and public vision. The visual preference engaged 701 residents to collect what improvement priorities should look like. The Stakeholder Forum brought together 18 technical experts, community leaders, and municipal staff to discuss three design characterizations. This feedback was used to create a conceptual design. Sixty-five residents, businesses, and technical experts provided design feedback. A design walk engaged 15 residents during an in-person tour of the design for the corridor.
The final phase was the drafting of the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan. The final plan includes the background, existing conditions, technical analysis, community engagement, designs, cost estimates, funding sources, and next steps. A community celebration at 1000 W and the Folsom Trail commemorated the final designs, unveiled the Folsom Trail Mural Project, and shared next steps. Click here to view the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan.
The construction-level design drawings bring the project to the engineering stage. Now, we are tasked with building momentum and raising funds to implement the design. The Folsom Trail was included in the Salt Lake City Parks, Trails and Open Space General Obligation (GO) Bond. An estimated $5 million will be allocated towards completing the final trail segment between 1000 West to the Jordan River Trail. Any leftover money will go towards implementation of the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan.
One strategy to build momentum is the Folsom Trail Mural Project. This 300-foot mural creates immediate activation and beautification of the corridor, while we work towards the larger vision in the design plan. The Roots Art Kollective, a group of three Mexican American artists, was selected from over 30 applicants to paint the mural. They were chosen not only for their artistic excellence, but also their strong ties to the Poplar Grove neighborhood. Further art and placemaking pieces will further activate the corridor and build momentum toward construction of the City Creek at Folsom Trail project.
Implementation of the City Creek at Folsom Trail project will revitalize a former rail corridor into a thriving ecosystem and community connection. It will create a beautiful, safe, and welcoming community centerpiece for the Poplar Grove neighborhood of Salt Lake City with more access to nature, improved water quality, and mitigated surface area flooding.
