Open Streets Salt Lake City - Ci.SLC.lovia
Event Information
Main Event: Saturday, May 4, from 10am to 2:30pm on 300 South between the Intermodal Hub at 600 West and 200 East in Salt Lake City.
Enjoy 1.5 miles of downtown streets opened exclusively to walking, biking, jogging, and other fun family-friendly activities.
The event is organized by Bike Utah and Salt Lake City, presented by the Bicycle Transit Center, and supported by Peformance Bicycle, SLUG Magazine, Wells Fargo, Salt Lake Power Yoga and Zac Lazare Graphic Design.
What is an Open Streets event?
Open Streets events temporarily open a series of city streets exclusively to walking, jogging, bicycling, rollerblading, and more. These events encourage new people to try walking and bicycling in a comfortable and fun environment. Supporting activities regularly include exercise classes, dance classes, yoga, aerobics, sports, and family-friendly games and activities.
Open Streets events promote community pride, local business, air quality, and physical activity, while encouraging the use of streets as a public space for the community to interact.
Each city creates a unique event, reflecting their own character. Below are videos from successful Open Streets events in other places. What do you want to see in Salt Lake City?
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What is Open Streets Salt Lake City?
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To volunteer, email Savannah Wake at Savannah.Wake@slcgov.com.
Where is Open Streets happening?
The event will take place on 300 South/Broadway from the Intermodal Hub at 600 West to 200 East, as well as the block on 200 East between 300 South and 400 South, covering a distance of 1.5 miles. Activities will begin at the Rio Grande Depot and continue along the rest of the route.
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This route:
Download the Open Streets Route Map for a better view of the route.
What activities will Open Streets include?
A few major activities and events are already planned along the Open Streets route, but there is room for many more. The LiveGreen Festival will take place at Library Square at one end of the route, with the Tour De Brewtah Start/Finish at Gallivan Center, and a host of activities at Pioneer Park.
We are looking for help organizing more activities along the rest of the route. Options could include anything from a hula hoop dance class to a stilt race, from spinning classes to yoga sessions, or aerobics to three-legged races and scavenger hunts. In general, this event supports family-friendly physical activities that anyone can enjoy, with a focus on fun and movement.
Current activities planned along the route include hourly yoga classes, lawn games hosted by SLUG magzine, a bake sale at Pioneer Park hosted by the Downtown Farmers Market, and more. There is plenty of space for additional activities, and you are invited to lead your own programs on 300 South or at Pioneer Park. If you have an idea for an activity, please contact bikeslc@slcgov.com.
Volunteering information:
The success of this event depends on help from many volunteers. Possible duties include leading events and activities, providing maps and other event information, setting up equipment, or assisting people through intersections. Volunteering options are detailed below, and in the flyer available here.
Additional Volunteer information
RSVP required, sign up today!
For more information about volunteering, please contact Salt Lake City's Volunteer Coordinator, Savannah Wake at Savannah.Wake@slcgov.com.
What are the benefits of Open Streets?
Open Streets events have been shown to attract new people to walking and bicycling, while also benefitting local business and community involvement. In a 2011 survey at a St. Louis Open Streets event:
Check out the Open Streets Project website for more information.
How do I get to Open Streets?
To ride your bike, use the Salt Lake City Bikeways Map, or take the bus, TRAX, or Frontrunner downtown. UTA's Trip Planner can help plan your trip on rail or bus.
How will Open Streets affect my business?
A study by Washington University showed that 73% of Open Streets participants make a purchase at a store or restaurant along the route, with 68% of particpants becoming aware of a restaurant or store that is new to them. With 3,000 or more people attending these events, this can amount to thousands of patrons for local stores, shops, and restaurants.
Open Streets Salt Lake City will encourage local businesses to get involved in the event by extending storefronts into the street through tables and tents, or offering creative activities to involve event participants. Cities such as Minneapolis and Portland have found that businesses who actively participate in an Open Streets event receive the greatest benefit, both on that day and in future business from customers who walk and bicycle. Local businesses in these places, and many others, now recognize that people arriving by foot or bicycle are becoming their top customers, making more trips and spending more collectively at neighborhood stores and restaurants.
How will Open Streets affect parking?
The night before the event, on Friday May 3, the Salt Lake City Police Department will post "No Parking" notices along the route for on-street parking spaces. Residents and businesses will be asked to move vehicles out of on-street parking spaces for the next day. The next morning, at 8am, the Transportation Division and Police Department will move any vehicles still parked in the street; vehicles will be towed a short distance to a nearby parking space on an adjacent street, off the Open Streets Route. On-street parking will be available again by 4pm that evening, following the event.
Major parking garages along the route will maintain access during the event, aided by traffic control provided by the Salt Lake City Police Department. Residents can enter or exit parking lots when escorted by an event volunteer. However, it is recommended that residents and businesses plan to avoid driving on the Open Streets route during the 4.5 hours of the event, from 10am to 2:30pm.
Who is organizing Open Streets in Salt Lake City?
Open Streets is a joint effort by Bike Utah, the statewide bicycle advocacy organization for Utah, the Salt Lake City Transportation Division, and tireless citizen volunteers. Bike Utah is working with community partners to organize sponsorships, outreach, volunteers, and supporting activities. Salt Lake City Transportation is facilitating route planning, logistics, permitting, and coordination of barricades and traffic control at intersections. Volunteers are donating their time to help in all aspects of organizing and carrying out the event. Performance Bicycle and the Alliance for Walking and Biking provided a start-up grant to help with initial costs of planning the Open Streets event.
For more information about Open Streets Events in other places:
Check out the Open Streets Project website.