Your Greater Avenues Community Council is paying attention to things happening in our neighborhood and around the City, County and State to bring you the latest information on issues of public concern.

This page is also intended bring you opportunities for your own civic engagement.

You can help make a difference by getting involved!  

Civic engagement is individual and collective action designed to identify and address issues of public concern. 

Civic engagement can take many forms, from individual volunteering, organizational involvement and electoral participation.

The Avenues Civic Engagement Committee encourages Avenues residents to be informed, learn about the issues, let our elected officials know your thoughts, and to vote!

We invite you to attend a 2026 Legislative Preview organized by the Westside Coalition at the Fairpark, Tuesday, January 6th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

                                                             

We invite you to attend a 2026 Legislative Preview at the GACC Community Meeting on January 7th, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Avenues Library, 455 N F Street. 

During the meeting we will hear from our Utah Legislators representing the Avenues:  Sen. Jenn Plumb, Sen. Todd Weiler and House Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost.

Contact them or see their sponsored legislation at these links:

jplumb@le.utah.gov, https://senate.utah.gov/sen/PLUMBJ/

tweiler@le.utah.gov,  https://senate.utah.gov/sen/WEILET/ 

jdprovost@le.utah.gov, https://house.utleg.gov/rep/DAILEJ/

Bring your questions to the meeting on Jan. 7! 

Participate in the Election Process

Check your voter registration HERE  

See the latest election results HERE

Downtown Entertainment District and Saving Abravanel Hall

What to know, What to do

The City Council voted on July 9th unanimously to accept the proposed project. The next step is a state committee review for approval before the agreement can be finalized. If the agreement is finalized, the City Council will vote later this year on whether to approve a 0.5% sales tax increase and proposed zoning changes to accommodate the plan’s development. Let your council member know your thoughts by email to chris.wharton@slcgov.com or call 801-535-7726.

Read the Proposed Agreement between SLC and the Smith Entertainment Group.

See a comprehensive look at what’s at stake for downtown Salt Lake City in this Dennis Romboy Article in Deseret News

See a recap of the July 9th City Council meeting in this KSL article by Carter Williams

See a Tribune Article by Jordan Miller about the recently formed State Committee reviewing the Agreement.

Announcing The Rio Grande Plan

What is the Rio Grande Plan?    See More HERE

The Rio Grande Plan is a citizen led initiative to take the railroad tracks on the west side of downtown and put them underground. The goal is to eliminate eight at-grade street level  crossings throughout downtown Salt Lake City, which will reconnect the east and west sides of the city, improve resident safety, and make the city easier to navigate.

The Rio Grande Plan has the additional benefit of allowing the reuse and revitalization of the 114-year-old Rio Grande Depot making it the new central shared transit station for Amtrak, Frontrunner, TRAX, and buses.

The Rio Grande Plan also reimagines 125 acres of previously underutilized downtown land. This will reinvigorate the Depot District by removing barriers, make the city more bike and pedestrian friendly by integrating the Green Loop post RGP construction, and allow citizens from all over the state to fully enjoy the city.