As promised Thursday by Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, road crews installed concrete barriers to vehicular traffic on a small stretch of Rio Grande Street that separates two large providers of homeless services.
Biskupski has the authority to temporarily close traffic for up to 30 days, and House Speaker Greg Hughes hopes for a longer closure of up to two years — for the duration of a multi-agency crackdown on area lawlessness and until the planned July 2019 closure of the shelter at 210 S. Rio Grande St.
Hughes had pressed Biskupski earlier this week to lease the property to the state, but Biskupski said she wants to have a public discussion before imposing any further limits on access to a city street.
A survey is available at www.slcmayor.com/rio-grande, and residents are also invited to attend a community forum 6 p.m. Wednesday at The Gateway mall.
Should Biskupski feel that a longer-term closure is called for, she would sign a longer-term lease agreement with the state, subject to approval by the City Council.
Hughes’ vision is to fence off the street, continuing the fence along the southern perimeter of The Road Home shelter westward to 500 West. The state would manage the newly enclosed area, and those hoping to access it would need a state-issued homeless services card — which is still in conceptual stages.
The closure is necessary, Hughes said, to keep out drug dealers who were run off the block when more than 100 officers descended on the block three weeks ago.
The Rio Grande Depot, home to the Rio Grande Cafe and a number of state agencies, can still be accessed either from 300 South or on Rio Grande Street from 400 South.