Kearns has rolled out a new walking loop circling its Town Center, an effort to turn the Salt Lake County suburb into more of a pedestrian shopping and dining destination. The suburb is marking the launch with a celebration Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Library Plaza, where people who walk the route can find treats at some stops along the way.
The loop traces a path around Kearns Town Center, according to Axios, which first reported the launch. The Town Center area includes restaurants, markets, the library, Oquirrh Hills Elementary, and spaces set aside for food trucks and pop-up events, per the same report.
A Longer-Term Vision for the Town Center
The new loop lands amid a broader push to reshape how people move through Kearns Town Center. A master plan for the area, completed by a team led by GSBS that included Township + Range, calls for a new library, additional public facilities and retail uses. That plan also developed recommendations for improved pedestrian and bicycle access to the Town Center, alongside increased transit service, a transit hub, campus parking and major intersection improvements, the firm notes.
Some of that groundwork has already taken shape nearby. The Kearns Mobility Hub, according to the Greater Salt Lake Metropolitan Service District, was made possible through City of Kearns ARPA funds and UDOT TravelWise money, with partnerships involving the Kearns Mobility Hub Committee, Township + Range, Salt Lake County Library Services and the Utah Transit Authority.
Part of a Regional Push Toward Walkability
Kearns isn't alone in testing out marked walking routes. Magna marked out a walking path of its own this year, and state and municipal officials are looking to designate similar routes in multiple cities around the Salt Lake metro, aiming to promote local businesses and walkability more broadly, per Axios. Those plans are timed ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics, the outlet reports.
The push fits a pattern playing out elsewhere in the region. In Vineyard, developers are building Utah City, a 700-acre walkable community centered on a promenade called the Greenline, which runs from the Vineyard FrontRunner station toward Utah Lake, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. That promenade is flanked by pickleball, tennis and basketball courts, and the development already includes pedestrian-oriented businesses such as Bella's Market and Fini Pizza near the station — though developers expect the full buildout to take another 15 to 20 years, the newspaper reports.
Why Cities Are Betting on Walkability
Planning officials across the region have been making the case for years that walkable design pays off in more than one way. The Salt Lake City Planning Division describes walkability as a factor that promotes public health, reduces environmental impact and supports the local economy. The Salt Lake County Office of Regional Development has pointed to similar arguments, noting that urban planning author Jeff Speck has made the case that cities should be — and often want to be — more walkable.
For Kearns, Saturday's celebration offers a chance to put that philosophy into practice on the ground, with officials hoping the loop around Library Plaza and the Town Center gives residents and visitors another reason to park the car and walk to their next meal or errand.
