More Salt Lake City neighborhoods now have some added incentives to cut back on driving. The City announced today it will expand its SmartTrips program which encourages residents to get out of their cars and instead take public transportation, bike or walk to their destination. Smart Trips provides residents who sign up for the program with resources like bike maps and bus schedules. They’ll also get a free pedometer, bicycle taillight AND a one-week pass to ride UTA.
Vicki Bennett is the Director of Salt Lake City’s Division of Sustainability and Environment. She says a city employee will hand deliver the materials, answer questions and even help map out individual routes.
“So we’re really getting it to a personal basis," She says. "We're saying, what might be the hindrances to you being able to use something other than your car and how can we help you find a way to make that work.”
The city tested SmartTrips in the East Liberty Wells neighborhood this spring and will now expand the program to Rose Park and Wasatch Hollow. David Galvan owns Mestizo coffee house in Rose Park. He says public transportation and walkable, bikeable neighborhoods are essential to his business.
“West high school has 400 plus students who will ride the TRAX line and that ride the bus lines into us," He says. "The baristas at work, three of them live in the neighborhood. One of them, all she does is ride her bike. She volunteers at the bike collective. This is what we’re about.”
Salt Lake City will also provide community-based programs on things like basic bicycle maintenance and bicycle commuting. All programs are free to the public.
Additional information on Salt Lake City’s SmartTrips program: