Salt Lake City wants to clean up areas of the Jordan River as part of its Emerald Ribbon Action Plan — a multistep project that aims to restore the wetlands around the river and increase river access and recreation.
Salt Lake City Council members saw the first draft plan for the Emerald Ribbon plan during a work session Tuesday. The plan included five sections of the Jordan River that are ripe for improvement.
The five areas ripe for improvement were identified as the Rose Park Nature Area, Cottonwood Park, Fairpark Urban Core, Modesto Park/Bend in the River and Glendale Oxbow, according to meeting materials. Salt Lake City’s Department of Public Lands, which gave the presentation Tuesday, will start work improving these areas later this year, and restoration efforts will take between three and five years to complete.
Overall, the project is set to cost around $16.6 million dollars, with around $9 million in funds coming from the 2022 Parks General Obligation Bond and $1.3 million coming from capital improvement program funds.
Each area has its own objective depending on the area’s needs. For example, the Glendale Oxbow area would be located between the future Glendale Park and 2100 South, and the project will include a new trailhead and parking to access the Jordan River Trail. That area also has “significant potential for riparian, wetland, and upland restoration,” according to a city staff report on the project.
Other areas targeted in the plan, like Modesto Park and Bend in the River, suffer from safety issues and a lack of updated features. The Emerald Ribbon plan calls for creating new amenities in this area, including a new boat ramp and trailhead near Fremont Avenue, along with a shaded seating area and art installations on the Modesto Avenue side.
Though all different, each of the five projects call for restoring wetland areas, improving water quality, cleaning up each section of the Jordan River Trail and improving public safety.
Following a presentation of the project by city staff, Council Member Eva Lopez Chavez asked staff if the city’s new public safety plan would change any of the Emerald Ribbon plans. Tyler Murdock, the city’s interim public lands director, said the plans call for increased law enforcement in these areas, adding there’s overlap between Emerald Ribbon plans and the public safety plan debuted by Mayor Erin Mendenhall last week.
“Obviously, we know that we have a lot of challenges existing on the Jordan River,” said Tyler Murdock, the city’s interim public lands director. “I think increased (law) enforcement is critical for our operations team to be successful.”
The Emerald Ribbon plan is the latest effort to improve conditions on Salt Lake City’s west side and the Jordan River Trail. The trail, plagued by safety issues and lacking sanitation for years, has been an increasing focus for the city. It’s one of the many elements in the new Power District development, which is set to bring in a large number of housing units and retail space to North Temple.
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