900 West (North Temple to 1700 S) Community Livability Project

Responsive Margin

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Overview

The 900 West Community Livability Project was implemented to increase livability, safety, and mobility for all roadway users. The project transformed 900 West from North Temple to 1700 South into a complete street with one vehicle lane in each direction, a center turn lane, bike lanes, and pedestrian and transit amenities. The roadway was converted from four to three travel lanes between 200 South and 800 South and from five to three travel lanes in all other areas. On-street parking was also added on both sides of the street between 800 and 1700 South. As part of the project, crosswalk improvements were made at 700 South, 800 South, and Genesee Ave. The crossing improvements and overall project are in support of the community’s desire for a neighborhood that is walkable and livable, as outlined in the Westside Master Plan.

A photograph showing a newly installed bus stop in front of a large red brick building with arched windows. Text on the image reads "New Bus Stop at Chapman Library." The stop features a black metal shelter with glass walls and a bench, a grey trash can, and a sign pole displaying bus routes 509 and 513. The shelter sits on a concrete pad surrounded by a green lawn and large trees.

A split-screen comparison image labeled "Before" and "After" at the location 900 West and 460 South. The top "Before" photo shows a wide street with four lanes for car traffic, two in each direction. The bottom "After" photo shows the same street restriped to improve safety. It now features one car lane in each direction, a new center turn lane, and dedicated bike lanes marked on both sides of the road.

A photograph labeled "700 South Crosswalk" showing a high-visibility pedestrian crossing. The crosswalk features a red, textured surface that contrasts with the black asphalt road. It is equipped with yellow pedestrian crossing signs, solar-powered rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFB), and push buttons mounted on black poles.

Traffic volume and speed data

Within an appropriate range of traffic volumes, the conversion of a roadway from five or four lanes to three has little or no impact on roadway volumes. The traffic volumes on 900 West fall within the appropriate range and therefore we expect to see little to no impact on roadway volumes resulting from this project. With regards to travel speeds, a conversion from five or four lanes to three commonly reduces travel speeds since the most prudent driver now sets the speed for all drivers to the rear. In other words, faster drivers are forced to slow down since they don’t have another travel lane to use to go around slower drivers.

A table comparing traffic on 900 West before and after the "Community Livability Project." It lists daily traffic counts and vehicle speeds at six different locations between North Temple and 1700 South. The "Before" numbers (from 2007 to 2015) are highlighted in beige, and the "After" numbers (from 2018 to 2020) are highlighted in green to show the changes over time.

More data

Crashes during construction

Construction began on the 900 West Community Livability Project in July 2017 with substantial completion in November 2017. The following table and graph compare the total numbers of crashes that occurred during the construction period to the numbers of crashes that occurred during the same period from the three previous years. Please note that crashes occurring within construction zones likely do not represent typical roadway conditions and are therefore excluded from crash studies.

A table comparing the number of car crashes on 900 West between North Temple and 1700 South during the construction months of July through December for the years 2014 to 2017. The data shows that the total number of crashes remained relatively consistent each year, ranging from 41 to 48 crashes per six-month period.

A line graph titled "900 West Crashes During Construction Period" comparing monthly car crashes from July to December for the years 2014 through 2017. Four colored lines track the number of crashes each month. The grey line, representing the 2017 construction year, shows crash numbers fluctuating similarly to previous years, with a peak in October and a drop in December.

Three year after crash analysis

A simple before-and-after crash study was conducted for 900 West between North Temple and 1700 South, comparing crash data from three years before and after the project. Crashes that occurred during construction (July 1 to December 31, 2017) were excluded, as they likely do not reflect typical roadway conditions.

Before and after years for the study are as follows:

“Year -3” = July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015
“Year -2” = July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016
“Year -1” = July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017
“Year +1” = January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018
“Year +2” = January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019
“Year +3” = January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020

A color-coded table listing monthly car crashes on 900 West from 2014 to 2020. The data is grouped into three phases: pre-construction (2014–2016), the construction year (2017), and post-construction (2018–2020), allowing for a comparison of crash frequency before, during, and after the project.

A bar chart titled "Crash Totals by Year" that compares accident data for three years before and three years after the project. The chart shows that "All Crashes" (blue bars) peaked at 117 in the first year after the project but dropped to 81 by the third year. Crashes involving pedestrians (orange) and bicyclists (grey) remained very low throughout the entire period, never exceeding 5 incidents in a single year.

A line graph showing how severe car crashes were on 900 West before and after the project. The chart tracks three types of crashes: those with "No Injury" (grey line), "Possible Injury" (orange line), and confirmed "Injury" (blue line). The data shows that most accidents resulted in no injuries at all. While these minor crashes increased right after the project was finished, they dropped to their lowest level by the third year. Serious injuries remained very low and steady across the entire six-year period.

A bar chart titled "Crash Types" that breaks down accidents by cause for three years before and three years after the project. The chart shows a significant spike in "rear-end" crashes immediately after the project was finished, jumping to 64 incidents in the first year. However, by the third year, rear-end crashes dropped back down to 31, which is similar to the numbers seen before the project began. Other crash types, such as running red lights or driver errors, remained relatively steady throughout the entire period.

The crash types graph above indicates that for Years +1, +2 and +3, all crash types either decreased or remained about the same, as compared to the three years before project installation, except for rear-end crashes which show a pronounced increase initially but returned to average levels by year +3. To better understand the principal causes of the rear-end crashes, rear-end crashes for all years were analyzed and are shown in the graph below.

A bar chart showing the main reasons for rear-end crashes on 900 West before and after the project. The data reveals that "distracted driving" and "following too closely" were the primary causes for the spike in accidents during the first year after construction. However, by the third year, crashes caused by these behaviors dropped significantly.

Contact us

Dan Bergenthal, Project Manager

Email: [email protected]

SLC Transportation Division

Street projects

SLC.gov

Transportation

801-535-6630 | [email protected]