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Magna presentation highlights school, large housing projects and new trail and intersection work
Summary
Magna City staff gave a community spotlight outlining recent and planned residential developments, the new Cypress High School opening next month, a reconfigured Cordero Drive intersection enabled by UDOT, and multiuse path and trail improvements intended to improve active-transportation access.
Jeff Miller, a planner with the Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District, gave the Wasatch Front Regional Council a community update on development and transportation changes planned and under way in Magna City.
Miller said Magna's 2025 population is 30,637 and the city’s average household income is about $97,711 with a poverty rate of 8.55 percent. He noted that on May 1, 2024 Magna changed status from a metro township to a city and that beginning with the 2025 election the city will be governed by a mayor and five-member council. ‘‘This presentation will just be kind of a quick community spotlight on Magna City,’’ Miller said.
The nut graf: Magna is pursuing several large residential projects and roadway improvements timed with the new Cypress High School opening, while working with UDOT and developers to reduce driveway conflicts and add active-transportation facilities that city staff said will improve safety and connectivity.
Miller and Matt Starley, Magna’s long-range planner, described two major developments. The Gateway to Little Valley project is roughly 1,500 residential units; the Mahogany Ridge (an Ivory Homes community) is roughly 850–900 units. Miller said Ivory Homes and city staff negotiated changes that removed driveways from Cordero Drive, added alleys, and provided a 10-foot multiuse path on both 4100 South and 8400 West as well as a circular trail along Cordero Drive and connecting segments.
Miller described an earlier design constraint where Cordaro/Cordero Drive would have been offset and would not have allowed an intersection across a runaway truck ramp. He said Magna staff coordinated with UDOT and the developer, and UDOT agreed to reassign elements of the project so the intersection could be signalized. ‘‘UDOT . . . funded this project for one of their 2025 projects,’’ Miller said, and the signal is expected to be operational before the school opens in August.
Starley said active-transportation work includes a multiuse path on the 4100 South/8400 West corridor, railroad-crossing improvements, and plans to connect to the Utah Salt Lake Canal Trail. ‘‘We’re hoping to be able to link this multiuse path in with the next phase of the Utah Salt Lake Canal Trail,’’ Starley said.
Miller said 3500 South and the area south of it is becoming the city’s densest neighborhood and that Cypress High School will open next month. He said the city is also coordinating a future extension of 4100 South with West Valley City to provide an additional access point.
During public questions, a Magna resident asked about walking and biking connections to the new high school beyond the 8400 West corridor; Starley urged that the 4100 South/8400 West multiuse path plus the planned hawk-signal relocation and railroad-crossing improvements would help link neighborhoods to the school and nearby Arbor Park commercial center.
Ending: Miller closed by reiterating that the city prioritized long-term circulation and safety over developer-preferred access patterns. He said the negotiated removal of driveways from Cordero Drive and the addition of multiuse paths were key outcomes of the reopened development agreement.
