Salt Lake City has a reputation for being a "bike friendly" city, and most residents say they favor policies toward that end…unless they happen to be Republicans.
Our latest UtahPolicy.com survey finds near two-thirds (63%) of Salt Lakers favor the creation of additional bike lanes on city streets. That includes 41% who say they "strongly approve." A third say they are opposed.
The creation of bike lanes along 300 South in downtown Salt Lake caused some confusion at first and angered business owners. Businesses complained the lanes took away existing parking spots. But, the survey shows residents favor the new lanes despite any drawbacks.
Salt Lake City's GREENBike bicycle sharing program has proved to be popular with residents. The program has doubled in capacity since its launch in 2013. City officials say they are struggling to keep up with demand as ridership jumped 184% in 2014.
The city will begin construction on permanent bike lanes along 200 West in downtown this August. It will stretch from North Temple to 900 South. The city's bicycle master plan calls for another permanent bike lane on the east side.
Everybody seems to like the construction of more bike lanes. Everybody, that is, except for Republican voters in Salt Lake City. Republicans oppose the creation of more bike lanes by a 52-43% margin. Democrats overwhelmingly favor separate lanes for bikes (72-24%). Independent voters also are in favor of the bike lanes by a 61-32% count.
The survey was conducted by Dan Jones and Associates from April 9-15. 366 registered Salt Lake City voters were contacted online and via telephone. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 5.12%.
