Council pushes staff to adopt UDOT/MUTCD markings after residents and UPD flag sparse bike signage

Council members raised concern that Emigration Canyon has few bike‑lane markings, no clear start/stop signage for bike lanes and insufficient no‑parking signs where bike lanes exist, complicating enforcement and cyclist guidance.

Council Member Catherine Harris said there are approximately five bike‑lane signs between the canyon’s western border and the rest of the corridor and that the road lacks consistent shared‑lane markings used in nearby Salt Lake City. Tamaran Woodland, assistant city engineer at MSD, confirmed that Emigration Canyon’s engineering standards reference AASHTO, the Utah Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and UDOT standards, but those standards have not been physically implemented on the road.

City Attorney Cameron Platt and Woodland agreed to prepare a written summary of applicable UDOT and MUTCD guidelines for the council’s review and potential formal adoption at the next regular meeting. Council Member Jennifer Hawkes said she is incorporating signage, surface standards and width requirements into broader design guidelines she is developing and emphasized the need for explicit no‑parking signage even where prohibitions already exist in regulation.

Law enforcement implications: Detective Dawn Larsen (UPD) was named as the public‑safety representative in the proposed working group and council members noted that unclear markings make enforcement harder for officers.

Next steps: staff will provide a standards summary and recommended signage plan for council consideration and potential direction to MSD for physical implementation.