Master Plan to Revitalize Salt Lake City's Struggling West Side

Christopher Smart details the newly proposed West Side Master Plan for Salt Lake City, which would set a planning vision for the Poplar Grove and Glendale neighborhoods.

Here's how Smart describes the vision set forth by the master plan:

Imagine riding a streetcar from the TRAX station at 200 West 900 South to the intersection of 900 South and 900 West, where a bustling neighborhood of cafes and shops stretches north to 800 South.

There you would find Latin American, African and Eastern European influences from food to clothing to art. Nearby bicycle traffic would flow east and west on the 9 Line, the abandoned rail right of way that parallels Indiana Avenue to Redwood Road. It intersects with Jordan River Parkway and a future nature preserve.

Smart notes that the plan focuses on nodes of activity, rather than painting in broad strokes. In fact, the master plan lacks a development map in the hopes of providing flexibility for would-be developers.