SLC.gov

Aug. 13, 2025

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Salt Lake City is inviting residents to help shape the most prominent section of the Green Loop: the flagship block connecting Library Square and Washington Square in the City’s civic center. 

“This area is our City’s front yard and a place where we already come together for some of our biggest gatherings,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “When we share public space, we strengthen our community. By envisioning how the Green Loop meets Washington and Library Squares, we can create a true civic destination—a more welcoming, shaded space where we can mingle, play, and connect.” 

Salt Lake City hired renowned landscape architecture firm GGN to lead the vision study. GGN and the City are inviting residents to share stories and ideas through a “memory box” installation at the Salt Lake City Main Library and online survey, both open through August 31. These memories will help guide early design decisions and ensure the new infrastructure supports creating memorable experiences for the community it serves. 

The plan is also an opportunity to revitalize the Main Library’s plaza, which is beginning to show its age. The vision study will directly inform long-term improvements to make the plaza more accessible, comfortable, and useful—both for downtown residents and for the many popular events the space hosts. The resulting plan could propose long-term solutions to remedy uneven pavers, increase tree canopy, and add amenities that encourage everyday use.  

“This is an opportunity to reinvent what one of our most beloved downtown blocks feels like,” said Nancy Montieth, project manager. “By reimagining the right-of-way and the civic center together, we can bring more green into the city, strengthen transportation connections, and make the entire area more welcoming for daily life.”   

As a major block of the Green Loop, the site will show how Salt Lake City can reimagine portions of its wide downtown streets as tree-lined, people-focused greenways—while still allowing vehicles to travel through them. Public enthusiasm for this kind of enhancement has been strong. A 2023 pop-up demonstration park on 200 East drew thousands of visitors, and 70% of pop-up survey participants said they would use the Green Loop daily or weekly. A 2024 resident survey also identified downtown as the top priority for new open space. 

“We’re building on the momentum of the 9 Line Trail, which brings residents and visitors to local shops and restaurants every day,” added Monteith. “Once we add tree canopy to that corridor, it could become the first completed section of the Green Loop—but the block at Library and Washington Squares will be the most activated civic space within the project.” 

This block has long been downtown’s civic heart, hosting beloved festivals, cultural events, and milestone gatherings. Notably, in July 2024, thousands of Utahns crowded Washington Square before sunrise to celebrate the news that they had officially secured the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 

As our downtown community continues to grow and densify, the need for quality neighborhood green space grows with it. Creating shaded, beautiful, and accessible places for people to walk and gather is essential to community resilience. The Green Loop will help create a more comfortable, family-friendly downtown—and one more welcoming to cyclists, pedestrians, children, and pets alike. To learn more about the Green Loop, click here.