Salt Lake City – A downtown florist is urging city officials to remove a two‑way bike lane that runs alongside her storefront on 400 South. Marci Rasmussen, owner of Especially For You at 221 W. 400 South, says the lane creates a dangerous conflict for drivers exiting her angled parking area.
Close call sparks petition
Rasmussen recounted a near‑collision early Friday morning when a cyclist rode past her as she was backing out of her driveway. “He was screaming at me,” she said. “I said, ‘You need to be careful too.’” The florist argues that the lane forces drivers to watch for pedestrians on the sidewalk, cyclists or scooter riders traveling in both directions, and traffic on 400 South simultaneously.
Design of the 400 South Viaduct Trail
The contested lane is part of the 400 South Viaduct Trail, a joint Salt Lake City and Utah Department of Transportation project that runs along the south side of 400 South from 900 West to 200 West. The city describes the protected route as a safer connection for walkers, cyclists and other “rolling” users between the west side and downtown, while preserving vehicle capacity on the corridor.
The project includes a wide concrete path separated from traffic in places by a physical barrier, new striping, sidewalk and pedestrian‑ramp improvements, and minor median changes. The city announced the trail was substantially complete in June.
Business impact and revenue claim
Rasmussen says the two‑way configuration adds an unexpected conflict for drivers already trying to safely enter a busy roadway. “It’s not normal for a person when they’re coming out of a driveway on a divided road to look one way for traffic and then look the other way to see that it’s a two‑lane bike lane,” she explained.
She also claims the project’s removal of customer parking has hurt access to her shop, reducing her revenue by about 22 %. Salt Lake City officials said they cannot verify the revenue figure.
City’s response
In a written response to FOX 13 News, the city noted that Rasmussen raised concerns during the project’s design and construction phases. Officials said they have already modified the driveway and the property‑owner’s fencing to improve sight distance and adjusted time restrictions on an adjacent side street to help accommodate customers.
The city added that similar driveway conflicts exist at other locations with protected cycle tracks and that all road users must follow traffic laws and watch for conflicts. It also stated it has no specific count of parking or loading spaces removed on the block and is not aware of any unusual crashes, near‑misses or safety complaints beyond Rasmussen’s observations.
City staff said they continuously monitor the facility and have no additional changes planned beyond the driveway and fencing modifications already made. They offered to conduct a more detailed review of reports early this week.
Cyclist perspective
Cyclist Jessica Kaing expressed support for bike lanes but warned that locations near freeway access and heavier traffic can be challenging for both cyclists and drivers. “I do think that there are areas where it works,” Kaing said. “But you’re talking about bike lanes between 5th and 6th South. You’re getting on freeways. This is such a busier area, so I think it’s really tricky.”
Kaing added that cyclists deserve safe ways to get downtown and that “there has to be a way to figure that out.”
Next steps
Rasmussen plans to take her petition to nearby businesses and continue pressing the city for the removal of the two‑way bike lane. She warned that if a serious accident were to occur, she would be forced to close her shop.
The city has indicated it will review the situation further but has not committed to additional alterations at this time.
Original reporting: FOX 13 KSTU (Scripps) – Salt Lake City — read the source article.
