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Originally Posted by Comrade
That's the point, though: Salt Lake's downtown is tiny, even compared to cities relative to its size. So, the retail and entertainment options are mostly loaded up in a very small vicinity of actual walkable development (mostly around Main Street). There's a positive to that in the sense it makes everything seem more active since it's all literally on one street (albeit one whose activity ends pretty quickly the further you go down it).
Even then, activity is spotty at best. Just take a look at random Google Street View images of both cities and the activity for both is pretty similar. That's not to say downtown can't have its moments, especially when there's an event, but I'm sure Charlotte has 'em too.
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SLC's downtown is actually rather large by area. Maybe it doesn't feel that way since we have such large blocks and streets, shorter towers, and more than a few empty lots, but it's true.
I actually live in Denver currently and I do think Main Street SLC between South Temple and 400 South is a more remarkable urban space than any single street in Denver including 16th Street. On the other hand, Denver has
many more good urban streets than SLC. SLC is largely a one-trick pony at this point but there are some other streets that are starting to recover and fill in (thinking of 200 S).
After exploring more of Charlotte, it seems to me that the most lively parts of the city are adjacent to the CBD, across the freeways. The CBD itself, while having some nice tall towers, is largely hostile to pedestrians and devoid of street activity except in a few areas. The area I stayed in was within the Uptown freeway loop (on the southeast side) and it was literally a 15-20 minute walk from the hotel to get anywhere. Going under the freeway to get a decent lunch (lol) required crossing some really dangerous unsignaled crosswalks. There was also no train from the airport to the CBD and the bus I planned on taking was just randomly cancelled without notice. The light rail was running at 30 minute headways at 8pm on a weekday, which I thought was pretty pathetic. Everyone at the conference just used Uber and Lyft to get around despite it being 10x the price of transit.
So yeah, all of this is to reiterate my original point. This is the kind of thing that Comrade is always lamenting about the future of SLC and, for me, there are lessons to take away from the experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comrade
tbh, I think they need to close off Main Street to vehicle traffic from South Temple down to 400 South. Create a public plaza (PUBLIC lmao) with food trucks, entertainment options, outdoor bars and just make it a lively place. I think that would open the area significantly.
But right now? I'm sorry Main Street really is only marginally better than it was 20 years ago.
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This is already under serious consideration by the city government. I think it will happen eventually, maybe even within the next five years.
Maybe Main Street is only marginally better than 20 years ago but most of its character was created 100+ years ago anyway. I'd expect it to become much more lively as more people move to the immediate area and we get more infill.
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). I was there a week ago. Every time a midblock road/pedestrian path opens up in downtown, it adds quality to the urban experience. I hope it continues! They provide such a great foil to the wide avenues and regular grid layout. I'd like to see more of them develop -especially ones that angle or curve. I can imagine a city that is easy to directionally navigate (already the case) but still lets you get disoriented inside the huge blocks. Oh and don't let cars down the midblock streets!
Great minds think alike!!
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