The current “Reimagine Donner Trail Park” project has received funding from three different funding sources. Each has been approved by the Salt Lake City Council, voters, or both and must be used in accordance with their original intent. 

1. Parks GO Bond Funding for Park Reimagination: Salt Lake City voters approved the Parks, Trails and Open Space General Obligation Bond (GO Bond) in November 2022. As part of the bond, each city council district received $1.5 million to “reimagine” parks. In District 6, this funding is split between Donner Trail Park and Sunnyside Park, with approximately $750,000 allocated to Donner Park.  

2. CIP Funding for Memorial Tree Grove: An additional $434,000 from the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) FY 22-23 is dedicated to creating a Memorial Tree Grove within Donner Trail Park. 

3. GO Bond Public Art Allocation: To comply with the City’s Percent for Art Ordinance, 1.5% of the GO Bond is allocated for art installations across several parks in the city, including Donner Trail Park. Since 1984, Salt Lake City has allocated a small percentage of eligible City project funds for commissioning artists for services and site-specific artwork to be integrated into new construction projects. This is part of Salt Lake City’s commitment to enhancing community spaces through accessible, meaningful artworks. This investment also aligns with national standards for public art in civic projects and ensures that our city spaces reflect local culture, foster community engagement, and inspire pride. 

These funding sources were combined into one project to reduce construction impacts on the park and create a more cohesive design. The goal is to preserve what makes Donner Trail Park special while improving it to better serve the community in the future.  

Donner Trail Park was chosen primarily because it has not seen significant upgrades in many years and meets key criteria the City Council used to allocate funds to specific parks, including the condition and quality of its facilities, existing needs, and safety concerns.  

Salt Lake City must allocate Parks GO Bond funding in line with voter-approved guidelines and language from the 2022 voter information packet (VIP) and the ballot. The VIP outlined that each City Council district would receive funding for park enhancements, such as repairing outdated features like playgrounds and sports courts, incorporating elements that reflect neighborhood identity and history, enhancing community placemaking, and adding multilingual signage for better wayfinding. Funding cannot be used for regular operations and maintenance.  

Donner Trail Park was chosen as a site for Parks GO Bond public art funding in close consultation with Salt Lake City Arts Council and Public Lands Design & Planning Division staff. Council District 6 is one of the districts with the least amount of public art in the City. This site is also the only East Side location receiving a major allocation for public art from the Parks GO Bond. It was selected for its size, location, the possibility of incorporating art throughout the planned improvements, and its potential to incorporate storytelling that highlights local history and culture. The decision was guided by survey responses, which showed the community ranked art as the top way to incorporate their traditions, stories, and history into the park’s design. Kuby’s Journey Lines aims to honor the park’s unique identity, enhancing its use and appreciation by residents and visitors alike. 

Salt Lake City’s Public Lands Department has two main types of funding: Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Capital.

O&M funding covers day-to-day maintenance—things like staff, vehicles, tools, water, and graffiti removal etc. This funding comes from the city’s annual budget, approved in the spring, and is available for one fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).

Capital funding is for larger projects, like replacing old facilities or building new amenities that don’t yet exist but that the community wants to have. It includes the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget, approved each August, along with grants, bonds (like the Parks GO Bond), and other sources. This funding is typically designated for specific projects and can be used over multiple years, given the time it takes to plan and build capital projects. 

While O&M and Capital funding may not be redirected, they complement each other. Capital projects, such as those funded by the Parks GO Bond, help update infrastructure, reducing the need for frequent, costly repairs that currently demand much of the O&M budget and resources.”. 

The Department of Public Lands is committed to listening to the community to make our parks and public spaces reflect what matters most to you, the user. We carefully consider community feedback for each project, especially when it involves making changes to a space, such as adding or removing amenities. Through public surveys, we gather input from as many people and as representative a cohort as possible, so that we can most appropriately balance differing community interests and make decisions that respect a variety of community perspectives. While budget constraints, mandates, and logistics sometimes set limits on what can and cannot be done, we’re dedicated to ensuring community voices shape our parks in meaningful ways. 

Feedback from the second round of engagement (conducted October 2024) has helped the project team better understand how people use Donner Trail Park. The feedback received will help us refine the draft concepts.  

In the first community survey (open from May to September 2023), the primary question to guide the use of the $750,000 Parks GO Bond allocation asked which amenities residents enjoyed in other parks and which they would like to see in Donner Trail Park. The responses identified that the community’s top preferences were more benches and seating areas, better landscaping and plants, and new playground equipment. All of the top three requests were prioritized and proposed in the Phase 2 concept designs.  

The survey underscored a community desire to incorporate local traditions, stories, and history into the park’s redesign, with residents specifically ranking art as the top way to reflect their neighborhood’s identity. Feedback also emphasized residents’ desire to preserve the park’s natural, contemplative character, valued for its solitude and scenic views. The selected artwork, Journey Lines by Adam Kuby, honors these qualities by integrating elements that reflect the park’s landscape and history. The public art installation was designed to create a sense of connection, contemplation, and belonging for community members, while also enhancing the cultural and historical richness of the space. 

Due to the art and memorial tree grove being funded by other funding sources, they were reviewed and approved through different public processes than the park reimagination public outreach process. To learn more about the CIP process click here, and to learn more about the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program Artist Selection process, click here.  

The Public Art Program and the Public Lands Planning & Design teams collaborated to integrate public art that would enhance the park’s natural beauty and contemplative atmosphere. Journey Lines, the selected artwork, emerged from a thorough and transparent public art process that included including an open call for artists, a public information session, and discussion in two public meetings. Throughout the artist selection process, the Art Design Board and the Public Art Program remained guided by community preferences, ultimately choosing an artist whose work aligns with the serene, culturally meaningful character of the park. The artwork reflects survey feedback and was formally selected through the Art Design Board’s public process. 

Yes! Although the proposed design initially aimed to honor Phase 1 engagement results and move the playgrounds closer together so that families with children of different ages could play together, later feedback collected during Phase 2 indicated that this may not meet community needs as well as we had hoped. Due to this user feedback, the design team is likely to upgrade the playgrounds in their current locations, maintaining easy access while preserving the park’s natural setting. 

The proposed design largely keeps the park’s functions and uses as they are and only seeks to enhance them by updating and adding amenities to accommodate how people are using the park. Public feedback on these designs indicates that some of the areas where water-wise landscaping is proposed are areas frequently used for sledding, sports, and picnics. The final design will take into account that feedback and move the plantings to be in more low-traffic areas.   

In addition to many other purposes, Parks GO Bond funding will allow the City to replace or improve outdated or broken equipment in the parks, freeing up our operations and maintenance (O&M) teams to focus more on daily park operations rather than on repairs. Before any design is finalized and shared with the public, our O&M teams carefully review it to ensure that the proposed features meet City and other standards, are implementable, and can be sustainably maintained over the long term. Additionally, the SLC Public Lands Department evaluates its priorities, new projects, and budgets each year and submits requests to the City Council to help address ongoing maintenance needs in parks.   

Native plants are naturally adapted to the local climate and soil, and as such require less intensive maintenance, over time, than non-native species. They need less water, fertilizers, and pesticides to thrive, making them a sustainable choice for landscaping. 

The Salt Lake Art Design Board considers the maintenance and conservation of artworks during its artist selection process. The Public Art Program’s annual funding includes an allocation for the maintenance and conservation of the more than 160 artworks in its permanent collection.

Public art brings social, cultural, and economic value to our shared spaces. While some might hope for specific natural elements within our built environment, art can serve as a bridge to culture and shared history. It can surprise us, inspire imagination, and ask questions about who we are as a community. Public art enriches our sense of place, fosters unity, and enhances community pride. Outside of its aesthetic benefits, public art can also drive economic development by making our spaces more attractive and desirable for both residents and visitors, all while remaining accessible to everyone. 

Public art tends to surface many different views, opinions, and artistic preferences. We value community feedback and understand that public art often sparks passionate opinions, which is a testament to its role in reflecting and engaging the community.

Much like architects are selected for their expertise in designing buildings, and landscape architects craft public spaces based on their professional training, artists are chosen through a thoughtful process to create works that align with the broader vision of the project. This approach ensures that every aspect of the public realm—from playgrounds to artwork—meets a high standard of quality, safety, and aesthetic value. That’s why the City has a public art selection process (via the Art Design Board which includes members from across the city and diverse artistic backgrounds) that they followed for this installation.

The Public Art Program strives to strike a careful balance between supporting professional artists in doing what they do best – creating conversation-sparking, aesthetic, meaningful artwork – and being responsive to the artistic sensibilities of many different community members. That’s why this process blends broad community input with the commissioning of a professional, practicing artist who has a substantial portfolio and the experience to execute the opportunity.