Controversial plans to include an elevated enclosed pedestrian bridge as part of a major development in downtown Salt Lake City will face a vote before the city's planning commission this week. The vote, however, is not expected to be the final word.
"The skywalk - which would span Main Street between South Temple and 100 South to connect each half of the 25-acre City Creek Center - remains the controversial heart of the LDS Church's $1 billion-plus mall makeover."
"On Wednesday, the commission will entertain a public hearing before a scheduled vote on both the bridge and the overall site plan. The City Council - which amended the master plan last year (albeit with a set of conditions) to allow a bridge - then has final say on the commission's skywalk recommendation."
"Mayor Ralph Becker has said he will not oppose the bridge because it is only a small part of a "great development." Even so, he has yet to see the developer's sky bridge proposal."
"'I'm not going to make a judgment based on what I don't know,' Becker said. 'The City Council came up with some very detailed criteria and conditions. I would expect the Planning Commission to follow that policy direction.'"
"Becker's predecessor did not mince words about his opposition. Rocky Anderson threatened to sell the air rights above Main to block the bridge, which he called a gerbil cage for trapping people inside the development."
FULL STORY: Skywalk decision expected
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