SALT LAKE CITY — The neighborhoods of Glendale, Rose Park, Hyde Park, Poplar Grove, and others make up Salt Lake City’s west side. This community has historically been underserved, but residents hope that’s starting to change through city investment and new housing stock.

“This is a historically redlined neighborhood. So when you look at the old redline maps of Salt Lake City, Glendale, Poplar Grove, where we’re viewed as less desirable, the entire west side was,” said Turner Bitton, chairman of the Glendale Community Council. “So we have a higher poverty rate; we have a lower range of incomes.”

As KSL-TV embarks on a series called Roads to Understanding to find out what issues are most impacting community members, Salt Lake City west siders say there are a host of inequities and some top issues facing residents.

Top 3 concerns

“Rapid development, investments in parks and public spaces, and then transportation, environment concerns,” Bitton said.

Bitton said one example of rapid development is how a local Mexican market called Tahatas was sold to make way for a new townhome development. Another, he said, is the Redwood Road corridor, which has seen townhomes and housing units pop up rapidly.

“And then there are some empty city properties here that (the city has) recently rezoned, all with the goal of increasing the housing stock here on the west side. All good things,” he said.

Bitton said another big issue is that there is no high school for kids in this area. The students get bused to East High School, Highland High School, or West High School. And for busy parents who often work two jobs to make ends meet, it’s tough to get all the way across the city.

That highlights another one of Bitton’s concerns, transportation barriers connecting the east and west sides. Recently, the city transitioned a key bus line to stop every 15 minutes instead of 30, a welcome change for residents who rely on it.

“Those transportation barriers … when you have to get on a bus and get clear across town, if you’re a parent trying to get to a parent-teacher conference after work, if you’re a kid trying to get home to get your younger siblings home from elementary school, which is here in the neighborhood, all of those things add to that daily struggle that a lot of families are facing,” he said.

As for parks and public spaces, Bitton said Salt Lake City’s public spaces bond passed in 2022 allocated about half that on west-side parks. A big chunk is going to Glendale Regional Park, and some is also fixing up the Jordan River corridor, two areas Bitton said need it.

“We just hosted the west side City Council meeting here. And the No. 1 issue that was brought up by residents, there was safety issues along the Jordan River corridor. So those investments are going to go a long way in making the neighborhood better,” he said.

Finally, Bitton said EPA studies have shown that air quality is worse on the city’s west side, an inequity he noted that Salt Lake City’s east side doesn’t face.

“We typically have less of an urban forest than other places throughout the valley. And so you see those vulnerabilities to environmental concerns,” he said.

‘They want to be heard’

One theme echoed by different residents KSL-TV spoke with is that west side residents don’t always feel their concerns are heard.

“They want to be heard, and they believe we deserve nice things, and both of those are true. And part of being heard, is seeing investments coming into the neighborhood, and, that when those investments are made that they’re maintained,” Bitton said.

Katie Jarmin-Gates is a local teaching artist who runs a free art studio on the west side called Clever Cucumber Creative, which operates out of her home. She said that many residents here are so consumed by just trying to cover their basic needs — they often don’t have time to be creative and do things like make art.

“And so because of that, just trying to support their families on meager wages, they don’t have time to take care of themselves or really be there for their families outside of just bringing home a paycheck,” she said.

She’s found that her studio is a small way to help alleviate that for her community.

“I have a personal motto or a belief that it’s a lot harder to be destructive if you’re being creative. And so, I feel that it’s one way, one seed in which we can plant that can help the troubles in the world, which is by planting creativity.”

She too, expressed that she often feels west side residents aren’t listened to.

“For all the big corporations that want to build things here and buy up land and do all of that for the love of all that is holy, please just talk to us and let us be a part of it. Like, you know, we probably don’t have enough money to stop you from doing what you’re doing, but at least let us have a say in how it looks when it’s finished,” said Jarmin-Gates.