May 2015 – Community Forum Newsletter

NORTH CAMPUS CONNECTING ELEMENT
Heather Soderquist, project manager at Jacobsen Construction

On Saturday, May 16, the North Campus Connecting Element was put in place bridging campus to the Kennecott Building. Construction in the area will continue until August 2015 when it’s expected to be completed.

The North Campus Connecting Element is an elevated pedestrian walkway which provides a fully ADA accessible link between main campus and the Rio Tinto Kennecott Mechanical Engineering Building (MEK), as well as to the adjacent bus stop and neighborhood. The bridge spans east/west across North Campus Drive and connects into the recently completed circulation tower (containing an elevator and stairs) addition to the Kennecott Building, which is experiencing a full renovation and expansion. The ADA vertical circulation tower will be open 24/7 to accommodate ingress and egress from the campus and will be equipped with surveillance cameras for increased safety. The connecting element will negate the necessity to use the existing diagonal cross walk at the intersection of 100 South and North Campus drive, and will eliminate the crosswalk at Federal Way, which will help keep traffic to the University Hospital Campus flowing and reduce the direct interface between pedestrians and vehicles. The project also includes a new bus shelter and vehicular pullout to further enhance functionality, safety and traffic flow in the area.

For those using bicycles as transportation, a repair shop and storage area will be available for use in the basement of the Kennecott Building.

For more detail view the site plan.

Intermountain Healthcare
Erin Donnely, director of Strategic Planning and Business Development at Primary Children’s Hospital, Intermountain Healthcare

The main hospital is 25 years old and there needed to be a strategic expansion of capacity to serve the surrounding communities. The new outpatient building was built to help that.

Primary Children Hospital’s clinic volumes has expanded by 10 percent because of backlog before the new outpatient building was finished and with Utah having the fastest growing pediatric population in country, the needs of the entire state need to be met.. Telehealth clinics being used to meet the needs of patients without having them come up on campus to make space for appropriate growth in high acuity pediatric services.

Phase I: Eccles OP Building (completed)
Phase II: Core Renovation of labs, operating rooms, pharmacy, minor procedures unit (January 2015-June 2017)
Phase III: High acuity inpatient expansion/remodel of the NICU (2017-2019)

Future plans (2019 +)

Strategy of dispersed services

Seventy-five percent of the pediatric population lives within two hours from Primary Children’s Hospital and dispersing services will provide care closer to patients and help working parents and those with other children from having to travel to Primary Children’s Hospital, especially when the average non-ICU inpatient length of stay for children is four days. Thirty-eight percent of children have more than one stay at Primary Children’s Hospital. If a child can safely and appropriately be cared for closer to home, then we want to take every opportunity to make this happen. Riverton Hospital has an Ambulatory Center and can care for some of these children. Over the past two years, we’ve been working with Utah County Regional Medical Center to align pediatric services.

Foothill Transportation
Cris Jones, Salt Lake City Transportation

Foothill Drive is of regional importance and has been the subject of numerous studies to improve traffic flow in the area. The surrounding neighborhoods desire improved compatibility and transportation agencies seek to mitigate safety and congestion issues.

Project development and initiation

Finalize project approach
Review background information
Hold kickoff meetings with steering committee and stakeholders

Data collection – compile and refresh existing date and identify gaps

Community and stakeholder engagement

Engage a broad audience utilizing web-based strategies
Three community workshops

Corridor concept development

Renew the approach for Foothill Drive
Evaluate future demand and delay for all modes of travel
Develop performance measures to evaluate concepts
Develop and evaluate various multi-modal concepts
Identify preferred concepts and recommended strategies for implementation

Funding and implementation strategy

Develop action items including recommended responsibilities and funding mechanisms

Final implementation strategy report

Next steps
Consultation selection – proposals were due May 28

Contracting – Finalize scope and schedule

Yearlong process – beginning with kickoff meetings

The Foothill Drive Implementation Strategy will coordinate with the university’s master transportation plan and Salt Lake City’s plan.

How do you get your voice heard?

East Bench Master Plan Committee Meeting – last Monday of the month at Anderson-Foothill Library located at 1135 S. 2100 East in Salt Lake City.
Business and residential neighbors invited to come

Transit master plan schedule for the city
January through December 2015 will be drafting the plan and then formal adoption phase with community input. The schedule can be found here.

Key milestones

Existing conditions report
Key themes and goal development (community input process – all summer long)
Initial findings and draft recommendations (by fall/early winter)

Information regarding the project and how to get involved can be found at slcrides.org.

About 80 percent of trips being made by Utahns are not commuting trips so we need to have higher commute/transit modes to reach those not utilizing mass transit.

Updates since the May 2015 forum:
Consultant Selected – Proceeding with Contracting

SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 6 DEBATE
Wednesday, Oct. 7 | 12-1 p.m.

Hinckley Institute of Politics, 260 S. Central Campus Drive
Salt Lake City (Orson Spencer Hall Building)

Join the Hinckley Institute of Politics, ASUU and the Andrew Goodman Foundations’ Vote Everywhere Project for the Salt Lake City Council District 6 debate on Oct. 7.

Tracey Harty vs. Charlie Luke

Visit hinckley.utah.edu/driving-directions for detailed directions.

SALT LAKE MAYORAL RACE DEBATE
Tuesday, Oct. 20 | 12-1 p.m.

Hinckley Institute of Politics, 260 S. Central Campus Drive
Salt Lake City (Orson Spencer Hall Building)

Join the Hinckley Institute of Politics, ASUU and the Andrew Goodman Foundations’ Vote Everywhere Project for the Salt Lake City Council District 6 debate on Oct. 20.

Ralph Becker vs. Jackie Biskupski

Visit hinckley.utah.edu/driving-directions for detailed directions.

CHILDREN’S BASKETBALL CLINIC
Saturday, Nov. 7 | 1-2:30 p.m.

The new Jon M. & Karen Huntsman Basketball Center

Come out for a FREE skills clinic hosted by the Utah women’s basketball team. This event will be open to all children 12 and under. Meet the coaches and players, improve your basketball skills and win a bunch of free prizes including T-shirts, posters, game tickets and more.

CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS AT THE U
Tuesday, Nov. 10 | 11 a.m.

Libby Gardner Concert Hall, 1375 Presidents Cir, Salt Lake City

Congressman John Lewis will speak at the U Nov. 10, 11 a.m. in Libby Gardner Concert Hall. Lewis is a civil rights icon who recently published the first two graphic novels in a trilogy that chronicle his perspective of the civil rights movement. Tickets to the event will be available soon. Visit muse.utah.edu for more information.

VETERANS DAY COMMEMORATION
Wednesday, Nov. 11 | 8:45 a.m.-12 p.m.

Student Union Building, Union Ballroom, 200 S Central Campus Drive

We hope you join us in showing our veterans how proud we are to recognize them on this special day and to show our great respect for all men and women serving in uniform—those currently active, those retired and those who never come home. If you have any questions about this year’s Veterans Day events, please call 801-587-7722 or visit veteransday.utah.edu.

@theU

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