SALT LAKE CITY — An amendment introduced in a bill on transportation could block Salt Lake City from controlling its own streets.
The amendment to Senate Bill 195, introduced on Thursday in the Utah State Senate, enacts a moratorium on Salt Lake City from May 2026 to March 2026. It says the "city may not create a highway reduction strategy or execute an existing highway reduction strategy, including the reduction or narrowing of traffic lanes, during a moratorium period." The bill also orders a study from the Utah Department of Transportation.
Salt Lake City in recent years has adopted more bike lanes and bus lanes, narrowing some areas. The amendment prompted the Senate's six Democrats to change their votes to oppose the bill after initially voting in favor.
But Senate President J. Stuart Adams insisted it did not block Salt Lake City from making any road improvements. He suggested it may be related to improvements planned along 300 West as part of the Smith Entertainment Group's plans for a sports, arts and culture district around the Delta Center (addressed in separate bill).
"If I read the bill right, the way I read it is you can make any improvement you want, you simply can’t restrict additional traffic flow," he told reporters on Friday. "So if you're necking down traffic and you’re reducing traffic flow we need to take a look at that."
The amendment caused some panic on Friday. Salt Lake City representatives met with the bill's sponsor, Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville.
"We had a very productive initial meeting with Salt Lake City and other stakeholders to better understand each other's perspectives," Sen. Harper said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing these productive discussions next week to determine the best path forward."
Mayor Erin Mendenhall's office told FOX 13 News: "We are currently working with the bill sponsor to try to address the broad implications of this provision."
It is the second bill to threaten to go after Salt Lake City roads. The House of Representatives on Friday passed House Bill 465, which forces the city to sign an agreement with the state for public safety. If they don't? They could lose road funding.
