The 2002 Winter Olympics set Salt Lake City on its current trajectory, Mayor Erin Mendehall said Tuesday, and the work of preparing for a likely games in 2034 will define Utah's capital for years to come.

Mendenhall suggested that by the time the next games begin, a loop of family-friendly park space will circle downtown while a pedestrian promenade cuts through its center, helping to sustain a vibrant economy that supports the city's investments in affordable housing, clean air and water conservation and solidifying Salt Lake's status as the state's and region's hub for art, entertainment and commerce.

"Downtown Salt Lake City will be the epicenter of the Olympics once again and Main Street will be a vital component to our success before, during and after the games for decades," Mendenhall said. "Our momentum is only growing in reach and intensity. We’re setting the stage right now not just for tomorrow but for the next 10 years, 20 years and even 50 years."

Mendenhall's comments came during her fifth annual state of the city address, held at the Eccles Theater on Main Street. With Trax trains regularly rumbling by outside the theater's glass facade, she stressed the need for more spaces and opportunity for Salt Lakers to socialize, recreate and connect with their community.

"The state of this city is strong," Mendenhall said. "It is unwavering. It is undaunted."

Since 1962, city plans have called for the pedestrianization of Main Street, and recent years have seen car traffic temporarily closed on weekends between South Temple and 400 South through the Open Streets initiative. That four-block stretch is comparable to the walking path through the center of Liberty Park between 900 South and 1300 South, which drivers for decades have shown little trouble accessing through an exterior ring road and surrounding streets. The east-west streets running across Main Street would also remain open, as would all existing parking structures, and Trax would continue to operate, preserving a significant level of accessibility.

Mendenhall said that Open Streets has been a boon to Main Street retailers and restaurants, helping to lift receipts during the COVID economic slowdown and beyond.

"Even this past fall, as sales tax revenues softened, Open Streets cushioned the income of participating businesses," Mendenhall said.

But while the mayor on Tuesday called for the downtown core to be "fully-oriented to the pedestrian," her administration has increasingly signaled that any redesign of Main Street will preserve some level of vehicle access. Speaking with the City Cast Salt Lake podcast on Monday, Mendenhall said driving would continue to be allowed on weekdays, with the design only facilitating full closure on weekends, similar to the Open Streets schedule. She also displayed a rendering during her state of the city address that showed a private vehicle pushing its way through an otherwise people- and transit-focused scene.

Maintaining car traffic significantly reduces the potential transformation of Main Street, as the convenience of even a single driver requires setting aside large swaths of space that could otherwise be used for landscaping, safe cycling paths or plazas for event programming. It also retains the issue of vehicle exhaust and other car-borne pollutants, and the risk that drivers pose to pedestrians and cyclists—an average of two people are killed each month in city street traffic collisions.

During her Tuesday address, Mendenhall said her administration would be releasing more detailed information on its Main Street plans in the coming days, including its potential design layout and cost estimates for construction.

Mendenhall also emphasized the "Green Loop" project, which would reclaim redundant vehicle space on 500 West, 900 South, 200 East and North/South Temple to encircle downtown in a linear park. She compared it to similar projects in cities like New York, Chicago and Atlanta, and said that while she would likely be out of office before it is completed, her administration was committed to moving it forward.

"The Green Loop will be distinctly Salt Lake, but it will also cement our place in the world as a truly great city," Mendenhall said. "It is my vision that it will be ready to welcome the world 10 years from tonight."

Her address also emphasized the role of professional sports in the city's future, with efforts underway to lure Major League Baseball and professional hockey to the city, and with rumors swirling that the Utah Jazz may decamp for other areas of the Wasatch Front after playing downtown for more than 40 years.

"Tonight we reaffirm our commitment to keeping the Utah Jazz in downtown Salt Lake City," Mendenhall said. "Let me be clear. What is best for the state of Utah is that the team plays and stays in downtown Salt Lake City."

The team's role in the city fabric was similarly highlighted by Dee Brewer, executive director of the Downtown Alliance, who briefly spoke before introducing the mayor at Tuesday's event.

"Downtown is for everyone," Brewer said. "It is the regional center for culture, for commerce and for entertainment. And, of course, it's the home of the Utah Jazz."

Brewer said that downtown stakeholders have varied interests and priorities, but they share the goal of seeing the city center succeed.

"The downtown social economy is thriving and the opportunities to build on this momentum are multiplying," Brewer said.

Mendenhall also spoke on the city's progress addressing issues of housing, homelessness, crime, displacement and quality of life. She ran through the statistics of hundreds of new housing units built or in the construction pipeline, new programs to help renters secure and retain housing in the city, new services for the unsheltered—including a new micro-shelter pilot program and the planned tiny home village on the west side—and the city's first new regional park in decades, which broke ground last year in Glendale at the former site of the Seven Peaks water park. Phase 1 of that regional park, she said, is scheduled to be completed this year and future phases will include additional amenities and a public swimming pool.

She also stressed the importance of equitable opportunity and representation in government programs and initiatives, contrasting Salt Lake City with the recent actions of Utah Lawmakers, who passed legislation this month banning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs at college campuses. That bill was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday, contradicting the governor's prior statements in support of DEI efforts in a marked shift to the political right as Cox faces reelection in November.

"The future we are building together is deliberate, it's intentional and it positions our city for even greater success," Mendenhall said. "This city chooses bridges, not barriers. We choose inclusion, not isolation. I support and I defend efforts aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion."