It is finally official: the 2034 Winter Olympic Games are returning to Utah and returning to the Heber Valley!
In hopes that this would be the case, we’ve been working diligently while looking ahead in our master planning process and shaping what we desire our community to be for the next 30 years and beyond. As we follow our Envision 2050 guiding document and the principles therein, we have a lot of work to do over the next 9 years to be ready for the Olympics.
One of the main goals and objectives we are pursuing is a redevelopment of our Heber City downtown into what I like to refer to as the “community living room” – A place where the locals like to gather and where the community comes together. The first signs of this transformation are taking shape with the construction of the new bandshell on 200 South at the City Park this summer. The vision is that this park and bandshell will mark the south end of the new downtown corridor, which includes an alley at 50 West from 200 South to Center Street, where it will connect to the county and city block. This will provide the start of our vision for a walkable downtown, and a place with outdoor dining off of Main Street and small local shops to entertain and catch the imagination.
As a city, it is our job to provide the infrastructure to make the development of the area desirable for private investments. This includes park improvements, parking structures, burying power lines, fiber internet, updated public works infrastructure, narrowing of roads with additional parking, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and the proper zoning to allow for mixed use developments. We are working on all of this right now so that the realization of the vision of our downtown is not just a dream, but is allowed to become reality.
One of the biggest pieces to the puzzle is the Heber Valley Corridor project and bypass road on the west side of town from Hwy 189 connecting to West 40 North of town. Heber City, Midway City, Charleston, Wasatch County and the Wasatch County School District have been working on a unified letter to UDOT on the importance of the EIS they are currently doing and the priorities of our community. This is a big step forward showing UDOT that we as a community are unified and understand the need of this critical infrastructure before it is too late.
My hope is that these processes will get more attention now as the Olympic Games have been officially awarded to Salt Lake City, and that as a valley we see this corridor as critical infrastructure to prepare not only for the games but for the future travel needs of all residents of Wasatch County. We are Heber Valley and we need to address these big issues that affect us all together!
Sincerely,
D. Scott Phillips
Heber City Council
Commentaires