Logan officials present Canyon Road redesign options, open three‑week survey on sidewalks, trees and retaining walls

City planners and engineers presented a near‑final design for Canyon Road on Sept. 2 and asked residents to weigh in through a three‑week survey that will shape sidewalk widths, tree plantings and street cross‑sections.

Zan Murray of JUB Engineers told the Logan Municipal Council the Canyon Road Street Improvements project will run from about 600 East to 1500 East and is being coordinated with a separate water transmission‑line project. “Work on the water line and tank project is progressing well. Things are well in motion there,” Murray said as he introduced the engineering concepts.

The design team presented a preferred “bike boulevard” cross‑section within a 66‑foot right‑of‑way that compresses the street to fit the residential neighborhood while preserving traffic capacity. The typical section shows narrow travel lanes, four‑foot shoulders, curb and gutter, an 8½‑foot park strip on the north side and an 8‑foot shared‑use path on the north sidewalk; the south sidewalk would remain a typical 5‑foot sidewalk in many locations. City staff also showed an alternate that replaces the 8‑foot north path with a 5‑foot sidewalk to reduce impacts to adjacent property.

Engineers told the council the city’s formal right‑of‑way is 99 feet along much of Canyon Road but staff intend to compress improvements into a 66‑foot corridor to reduce property impacts. Murray said, where the existing hillside approaches the pavement, the design would place retaining walls next to the curb; he estimated those walls could range from a few feet up to about 12 feet at the highest points and said geotechnical work will determine final sizes and techniques.

The city asked residents whether they prefer an 8‑foot shared path (which the city would maintain as part of the trail network) or a 5‑foot sidewalk (which, under current city practice, would be private property owners’ responsibility to maintain). Matt Vance, Wilson Neighborhood chair and volunteer survey manager, said the online survey is live now and will remain open for three weeks; he said his team would analyze results and deliver both a summary and the raw responses to the council. “The survey is live as of this moment, and… it will be open for 3 weeks,” Vance said.

Council members and residents pressed the design team on a number of specifics: the transportation master plan projects daily traffic on Canyon Road could rise from about 2,260 vehicles per day today to roughly 4,000 if no improvements occur; the city’s minimum sidewalk standard is 5 feet and an 8‑foot shared path better accommodates two‑way pedestrian and bicycle traffic and ADA access; and tree placement should avoid conflicts with the existing transmission power line on the south side.

A council member urged that the corridor read more like a linear park. “I would love to see this more as a park with a street that goes through it,” Councilman Anderson said, arguing for tree canopy and streetscape features that would support recreation as well as transportation.

Murray and his team gave a 30% design status: the drawings show variable park‑strip widths (8½ feet on the north in many spots, narrower where hillside constraints exist), options for parallel parking at Canyon Road Park and a proposal to remove a “free right” turning lane at the short Dugway intersection in favor of a conventional turning radius and a four‑way stop if traffic counts support that change. Murray said the city will collect additional traffic counts before deciding whether to remove the free right.

The design team also shared a project cost marker for one specific element: a 30%‑level estimate for a north‑side sidewalk plus retaining walls — shown in the meeting as approximately $1,500,000 — and noted that other roadway improvements would be an additional cost. The city indicated those sidewalk/retaining‑wall numbers are included in the current budget picture for the project’s improvements.

Next steps: engineers will conduct additional traffic counts, continue geotechnical borings where walls are anticipated, refine the 60% design, and staff will collect survey responses. Vance said compiled results will be presented back to the council at the Oct. 7 regular meeting.

Why it matters: Canyon Road connects parks and neighborhood amenities and the corridor is identified in the city’s bike and pedestrian master plans as a key link between First Dam and Trapper Park; choices about sidewalk width, tree restoration and wall treatments will affect adjacent homeowners, pedestrians and bicyclists as well as construction impacts during the water‑line work.