Pioneer Park is Utah’s Plymouth Rock. When the first group of settlers entered the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847, they navigated an overgrown Emigration Canyon, turned north to follow a gentler slope to the valley floor and set up camp at the location that would become Pioneer Park. For decades, pioneer companies ended their long trek at Pioneer Park to rest and plan for their final destination across the West.
Today the camps at Pioneer Park are very different. The park has become a haven for drug cartels and human traffickers. Because of the proximity to downtown homeless shelters, it has also become a place where the most vulnerable among us are at highest risk for exploitation and harm.
Pioneer Park was once a place of rest and hope for the future. It can be again.
A group of concerned local residents, business owners and nonprofits have organized the Pioneer Park Coalition to focus effort and attention on restoring safety for all and dignity for the victims of lawlessness. But this group of committed citizens cannot save Pioneer Park alone. They need our collective efforts.
One important part of the solution is increased programming that will attract more residents and visitors to the park. One great example is the Farmers Market that takes place each Saturday during the spring, summer and fall. For 28 years, Saturdays have represented what Pioneer Park can be the rest of the week. Imagine how a downtown elementary school adjacent to Pioneer Park could transform the area with children using the park as their playground.
Salt Lake City residents will soon elect a new mayor who will have the opportunity to bring renewed vision and vigor to this challenge. Voters should consider carefully which candidate has a thought-out, targeted plan for saving the park. Capacity for both leadership and partnership from elected officials in Salt Lake City is essential to success. Many mayoral candidates have expressed support for a public-private partnership to save the park, similar to a model adopted to turn around New York City’s Central Park.
In the 1970s, Bethesda Fountain in Central Park was an open-air drug market. The activities that occurred there resemble what is happening in Pioneer Park today. The fountain has been restored and the surrounding area is full of families strolling, children playing and young professionals enjoying a break from work. Bethesda Fountain is a jewel for New York City. Pioneer Park can be the same for our community.
Ask anyone associated with the turnaround at Bethesda Fountain and they will cite law enforcement as an absolutely essential factor. This is a straightforward solution that becomes challenging without resources and political will. In the case of Central Park, the challenge was addressed by establishing a formal partnership between the public and private sectors. Community and business leaders working with elected officials and law enforcement made a decision that lawlessness would no longer be ignored or tolerated in the park. They backed up that decision by providing resources from both the government and business community.
Pioneer Day should be a time of remembrance and fun. Discussing the problems at Pioneer Park does not invoke either, but the truth is those original pioneers had their own challenges that required collective efforts and hard. Let’s follow their example of working together and take courage from their successes as we take on and ultimately overcome our challenge to save Pioneer Park.