LOGAN – At their regular meeting on Oct. 7, the members of the Logan City Council got an earful of city residents’ opinions about planned improvements along Canyon Road, some of which were less than unwelcome.
Those opinions were the result of a recent independent survey conducted by the local Mobrium company as a public service, according to Matt R. Vance, the chair of the Wilson Neighborhood Council and co-founder of Mobrium.
The bottom line of the presentation by Vance to council members was that 60 percent of local residents who responded to the Mobrium survey don’t want controversial sidewalks added to the north side of Canyon Road.
The state of Utah is requiring Logan City to construct a 10-million-gallon water storage tank near First Dam and an accompanying pipeline to improve water quality, flow and pressure for residents on the city’s west side. The route along Canyon Road was the shortest and least disruptive path for the new pipeline.
To address residents’ concerns, city officials are also planning to integrate roadway improvements along Canyon Road into the project, including proposed sidewalks, bike paths, trails and landscaping.
But many residents aren’t buying into the city’s vision.
“This project is a disgrace to the Logan community and is not wanted by residents,” one survey participant commented anonymously.
“Taking away the charm and allure of Logan by prioritizing projects no one wants or needs is ridiculous.”
The Mobrium survey was open for three weeks in September, with participation solicited by social media posts and via e-mail. The polling drew more than 800 responses, with about 42 percent coming from the Wilson, about 14 percent from the Adams, 11 percent from the Hillcrest, 9 percent from the Woodruff, 7 percent from the Ellis and 6 percent from the Bridger neighborhoods.
Vance added that the majority of survey respondents were long-term Logan residents, with 35 percent identifying as have lived here from 5 to 20 years and another 45 percent having been here for more than 20 years.
Many of those survey participants were more amendable to the proposed project, however.
Asked what amenities they would like to see the city include in road improvements along Canyon Road, 28 percent favored trees, 17 percent cited trails, 13 percent favored traffic calming/speed reduction features, 13 percent cited pedestrian safety features, 10 percent favored sidewalks, 5.6 percent cited bike paths, 5 percent favored landscaping, 4.5 percent cited crosswalks and 3.5 percent favored parking spaces.
Other survey questions focused on proposed changes to Canyon Road Park at 970 East.
Asked whether the sidewalks in the park should be winding or straight, 55 percent of survey respondents favored the winding option.
When questioned about parking at that same location, 82 percent of respondents agreed that ten parking space or less were needed that the park.
Asked what type of landscaping, in addition to trees, should be planted used in the proposed parking stripes, 43 percent survey respondents favored native plants while 25 percent cited xeriscaping to reduced maintenance cost and save water.
Of some 60 final comments by respondents at the end of the survey, Vance said about 50 percent of those opposed the entire project.
Typical of those negative comments was “… keep the mature trees currently there as a top priority,” the respondent wrote. “Logan has been horrible about killing the majestic old trees within the city’s boundaries in the past several years and it has to stop.”
After thanking Vance for his time and effort, Mayor Holly Daines emphasized that the Mobrium survey would be “one data point” to be considered in the final decisions on the Canyon Road project.
Mobrium is a technology and behavioral research company providing aggregation and management solutions of its clients’ employee reviews.
With its headquarters in Logan and team members working remote throughout the country, the company supports executives and human resource managers in creating and showcasing better corporate cultures.