Salt Lake MSA Development Thread

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

Daybreak? Are you joking? Daybreak is years ahead of Draper and other south valley cities in terms of set up and walkable.

Daybreak is only a little bit better than the average suburban development (in terms of walkability and good planning). It is better in the design and variety of housing stock. That's mainly it.

[CountyLemonade]

Originally Posted by Stenar

Daybreak is only a little bit better than the average suburban development (in terms of walkability and good planning). It is better in the design and variety of housing stock. That's mainly it.

I disagree with this assessment—at least the first sentence—wholeheartedly. Having walked through most of Daybreak, it feels ridiculously more pleasant being a pedestrian there than it does in most places in the valley. The biggest flaw to Daybreak right now, to me, is the lack of a local neighborhood grocery store like Emigration Market. But when the District is as close as it is, you'll be hard pressed to get someone to open up until the population hits critical mass.

[Stenar]

Walkability doesn't just mean it's nice to walk through. It means not having to use your car to get everywhere. There are few places to walk to in Daybreak to do day-to-day things.

When I lived in Sugar House, I could walk to the post office, walk to work, walk to restaurants, walk to the bus stop, walk to the grocery store, walk to the gym, walk to various other shops, etc., etc.

Originally Posted by CountyLemonade

I disagree with this assessment—at least the first sentence—wholeheartedly. Having walked through most of Daybreak, it feels ridiculously more pleasant being a pedestrian there than it does in most places in the valley. The biggest flaw to Daybreak right now, to me, is the lack of a local neighborhood grocery store like Emigration Market. But when the District is as close as it is, you'll be hard pressed to get someone to open up until the population hits critical mass.

[brankrom]

Originally Posted by CountyLemonade

I disagree with this assessment—at least the first sentence—wholeheartedly. Having walked through most of Daybreak, it feels ridiculously more pleasant being a pedestrian there than it does in most places in the valley. The biggest flaw to Daybreak right now, to me, is the lack of a local neighborhood grocery store like Emigration Market. But when the District is as close as it is, you'll be hard pressed to get someone to open up until the population hits critical mass.

What is the population of Daybreak now? I live close to Emigration Market and the place is packed every day its a real neighborhood magnet and I do most of my shopping there. It seems to me that Daybreak should be close to the same population as the Yalecrest neighborhood. Maybe its still just a suburban/vs urban mindset easier to load kids into the minivan for the trip to Harmon's at the District than to walk to SoDa. I have family in South Jordan and Daybreak is nicer than the typical 80s and 90s development of suburbia but the place still isn't walkable yet, maybe in 20 more years when there is a tree canopy and it is reaching build out. Hopefully developers planted heritage trees instead of the typical Utah Suburban flowering pear trash tree. With all the aspects of new urbanism that were implemented at Daybreak it still lacks the density of traditional neighborhoods and lacking the grid makes the place hard to navigate, at least they mostly ditched cul de sacs. I've made special trips to Daybreak just to walk there and the place still has the middle eastern war zone undeveloped feel to it. I look forward to what will happen in a decade or two, but for now it is still hopelessly stuck in the suburban mindset.

The District is terrible development simply a re-imagined strip mall with miles of parking.