Daylighting City Creek At Folsom Trail
The Creek at Folsom Trail
The City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan is a community-driven initiative focused on revitalizing City Creek and transforming the Folsom Trail corridor in Salt Lake City’s Poplar Grove neighborhood. At the heart of this project is the our goal of daylighting City Creek, a process that involves uncovering and restoring the natural stream channel that has long been buried beneath urban infrastructure.
Building upon the 2020 City Creek Daylighting Feasibility Study, which proposed two concepts for daylighting along the trail, the preferred design features an eight-foot-wide partial-flow stream channel originating at a pond on city-owned property at 39 South 800 West. This innovative plan, developed collaboratively by the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) of Salt Lake City, Seven Canyons Trust, CRSA, BIO-WEST, and Avenue Consultants, aims to reconnect the community with its natural environment by restoring a portion of City Creek to its former glory.
Through these efforts, the RDA and its partners have crafted a plan that reflects the community’s needs and aspirations. The daylighting of City Creek is more than just an environmental restoration project; it is a transformative endeavor that seeks to create a safe, welcoming, and vibrant urban space for all residents to enjoy. By bringing City Creek back to the surface, the project aims to foster a deeper connection between the community and its natural surroundings, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient future.
Design Plan
Excited to see the future? Click here to review the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan.
Area Map
Got Questions? Find Answers Here!
The City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan is a community-based vision for revitalizing a former rail corridor into a thriving ecosystem and community connection. It aims to create a beautiful, safe, and welcoming community centerpiece with more access to nature, improved water quality, and mitigated surface area flooding.
Historically, the urbanization of Salt Lake City led to the burial of many creeks, including City Creek, to prevent flooding and manage pollution. However, the renewed interest in daylighting these waterways, especially after the 1983 floods, has sparked projects like this that seek to restore natural water flows and create green spaces in urban settings. The RDA has been instrumental in driving this vision forward, ensuring that the daylighting of City Creek not only addresses environmental concerns but also enhances the community’s quality of life.
Daylighting refers to the uncovering of a stream previously buried in a pipe or culvert. In this project, it involves creating an approximately eight-foot-wide partial-flow stream channel for City Creek along the Folsom Trail.
The daylighting of City Creek along the Folsom Trail is envisioned as a catalyst for ecological restoration and community revitalization. By uncovering the creek, the project will create a dynamic, more natural habitat in the City.
The plan includes revitalizing the trail, creating a stream channel for City Creek, and adding amenities such as landscaping, lighting, and seating. It aims to improve water quality and mitigate flooding while enhancing community access to natural spaces.
Community engagement has been a cornerstone of the City Creek at Folsom Trail Daylighting Design Plan. Various outreach strategies, including targeted social media advertising, mailers, door hangers, lawn signs, and community events, ensured broad and inclusive participation. Materials and events were offered in both Spanish and English. Feedback from surveys, visual preference exercises, design walks, and meetings with business owners revealed strong support for amenities such as seating, lighting, and trash cans, while also addressing concerns about homelessness, safety, and maintenance.
The first phase of the Folsom Trail was completed in 2022, including trail installation to 1000 West, lighting, crossings, and site furniture. The Salt Lake City Open Space Bond approved in 2022 allocated approximately $5 million for the completion of the trail between 1000 West and the Jordan River. Further phases and property acquisitions are planned to extend the creek channel and add amenities.