Salt Lake City's historic Pioneer Park gets a makeover. Can it change perceptions?
by Carter Williams ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City reopened after an $18 million renovation.
- New amenities include dog parks, a playground and a pavilion for events.
- Officials hope changes will address safety concerns and improve the park's image.
SALT LAKE CITY — One of Salt Lake City's oldest gathering grounds has reopened after receiving a major makeover.
A roar broke out as Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and many other local dignitaries cut a ribbon to officially reopen Pioneer Park, after ground was broken on renovation in February.
The $18 million project called for several new amenities, including two dog parks next to a basketball court, along with a pavilion and promenade for events. A colorful all-abilities accessible playground features mist features that can be used to help cool down children who play there in the summertime.
More than 120 new trees were planted to help expand the park's tree canopy, while new landscaping also seeks to bolster its appeal. A multicolored art installation called "Common Roots" welcomes in visitors coming in from the park's northeast corner.
The whole project, funded mostly through a sales bond and development impact fees, came in under budget and ahead of schedule, according to Mendenhall.
"It feels different and yet incredibly familiar, and at home at the same time," she said.
Residents celebrated by testing out all its new features.
Live music and food trucks were also brought in for the celebration, highlighting how the park's new pavilion and promenade can be used for various activities beyond the popular Downtown Farmers Market in the future.
"We've been waiting a long time. We're super excited about them," said downtown resident Levi Linchenko, who came to check out the new park. "I think they've done a good job."
Trying to fix a negative perception
What is unknown is how the changes will fix issues people have had with the park in the past.
Outside of the Downtown Farmers Market, residents have long complained about Pioneer Park because of safety concerns. Its proximity to historic homeless services has resulted in camping, while residents have reported seeing needles and crime.
One person called it a "homeless haven" in a Google Review last year.
Salt Lake City officials are well aware of the park's perception, which partly inspired efforts to enhance the historic park.
"Obviously, public safety has been at the forefront of our minds for a long time at this park," said Tyler Murdock, deputy director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Lands. "It's no secret we've had challenges."
Thus, the plan includes features to seek to drive "positive activity" in the park, like its new amenities that seek to keep people coming to the park beyond times it's used for farmers' markets.
There is new night lighting for some of the park's amenities, but new colorful lighting at the pavilion isn't among the safety features.
One resident who lives in the area complained about the bright lights in a Reddit post, where they wondered if it aimed to "deter the 'undesirables' from being there at night."
Murdock told KSL that it's possible that crews were testing the lighting, but the lighting can be dimmed. The goal there was to create "fun" lighting that can change with different events.
For instance, it could be green, white and red on Christmas or red, white and blue during the Fourth of July, much like the building skyline in the distance.
A Salt Lake City Park Ranger station was built toward the western edge of the park, next to the park's playground, to help out with safety concerns, and it's one of the few parks with a security camera system, he added.
A security team that patrols multiple parks in the city will also make sure all public bathrooms attached to the station are locked at night and the park is clear.
"That's going to play a huge role in the perception and reality of public safety," Murdock said.
Experiencing homelessness isn't a crime, but there can be some safety factors the city is worried about, said Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd. Violence, drug use or illegal camping are issues the city is most worried about.
Officers from the department's downtown foot patrol and a green space bike squad will also make regular rounds to the park. If visitors see something concerning, they should call police to help address the situation, he said.
Residents like Sam Morse are hopeful and also skeptical.
The new park is beautiful, but it may not solve the problems that led to its underutilization, said Morse, a downtown resident who came to the park to walk his dog on its reopening day.
"The underlying issues of the city were really fixed, especially in this area," he said. "It's a great facelift on the park, but it won't solve the long-term problems that this area encounters."
Only time will tell if the changes will fix that perception, but Redd is hopeful that having more activities that draw people to the area will help dissuade illegal activity.
"It's really critical that the community uses the park, activates the park," he said. "We have (more) eyes and (fewer) problems."
Contributing: Madi Vollmer
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.