Salt Lake City Approves ~$40 Million in Improvements for City Parks and Neighborhoods

The Salt Lake City Council has approved nearly $40 million of funding directed specifically toward nearly three dozen projects identified in the 2023/2024 Capital Improvement Budget.

The CIP targets public properties of all types within city boundaries that require some type of construction work.

The 34 different projects that were approved by the City Council ranged from targeted road safety improvements to park enhancements, and more.

Projects approved within the CIP budget for Fiscal 2023/2024 fell within nine separate categories, as outlined below in alphabetical order, with the number of projects per category noted within parentheses for each category.

1. Arts Council (2 projects);
2. Community & Neighborhoods Department (1 project);
3. Engineering Division (4 projects);
4. Facilities (1 project);
5. Finance (1 project);
6. Fire (1 project);
7. Parks & Public Lands (12 Projects);
8. Streets (1 project); and
9. Transportation (12 projects).

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: The City Council also approved $247,571 for a "CIP Cost Overrun Account" which is included above as the project listed in the Finance category, bringing the actual total of "projects" approved to 34.}

Of the total projects approved, the top five most expensive are:

1. $4.5 million for "Complete Streets Reconstruction 2023/2024;"
2. $3.293 million for "Complete Streets Program: 2100 South, Virginia St., and Citywide;"
3. $1.7 million for "Facilities Asset Renewal Plan FY24;"
4. $1.7 million for "Urban Trails: The Other Side Village & the 9-Line Trail;" and
5. $1,644,126 for "Implementation of the Livable Streets traffic calming program;" with

three additional projects set for the 2023/2024 CIP Budget of at least $1 million.

Additionally, the least expensive work approved in the 2023/2024 CIP Budget was the "Rose Park Lane Beautification, Trail, and Safety Improvements" project at only $30,000.

According to City Councilwoman Victoria Petro,

“CIP gives us the opportunity to highlight and address often overlooked community needs at the direction of our neighbors. This annual funding helps us pay special attention to community assets like parks, public art, lighting, trails and more."

Please visit 2023/2024 Salt Lake City CIP Budget for a complete list of all items approved, and not approved, by the City Council.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: From time to time, Utah Money Watch will publish writeups/analyses about the spending of various governmental bodies within the state of Utah. This writeup about the 2023/2024 CIP budget is one such instance.

Should you have insights about or interest in other governmental spending in Utah, please let us know. Thank you.  DLP