SALT LAKE CITY — Terry Marasco has been biking on the Jordan River Trail for 18 years.
“You’re out of the city,” he said. “Literally. You’re in the corridor of water, trees, animals. I’ve seen fox on the trail, turtles.”
Growing up in a rough neighborhood in Manhattan and living in Detroit, Marasco never felt as unsafe as he did biking on the trail recently, he said.
“I saw drug transactions on the trail, 30 or 40 people blocking the trail,” said Marasco.
As the Chair of the Jordan Meadows Community Council, he’s begged the city to start deploying officers to walk or bike-patrol the trail.
“This is the gateway from the airport to the city on TRAX and cars,” said Marasco. “People from out of state, around the world, come to ski, and this is one of the worst corridors to be seen when people are coming to the city.”
Although the bridge on North Temple is home to many unsheltered people, Marasco has observed camping and drug use on the banks and bridges of the river for miles north and south.
“They're all congregating here, and they're kicking them out of other places, but they end up here,” he said. “The Jordan River isn't very public. You don't see them in the streets, they're all in the bushes by the river. So the public doesn't see it.”
Marasco has reached out to the mayor, city council members and police. In an email response to him, Captain Yvette Zayas with the Salt Lake City Police Department wrote:
“We have received several notifications about the issues along the Jordan Trail in regard to the drug activity and the encampments. I want to reassure you we are addressing the issues. We are working with city resources and department resources to combat the illegal activity occurring throughout the city limits. We are doing our best to have a daily presence. I ask for your patience as we dedicate available resources to address this issue.’
Homelessness and drug use won’t go away unless the city puts people in housing and gives them resources to recover from addiction, said Marasco.
“People in the streets, stores are closing, vandalism,” he said. “That's the next step.”
