Follow the Flow

Source: Strava

A bike ride on the Parleys Trail, which roughly follows the roughly 4-mile unburied section of Parleys Creek through the Salt Lake foothills as it flows toward and into a tributary of the Great Salt Lake about 10 miles away.

There was some news recently that got me thinking again about the congruence of natural waterways and vehicular pathways.

There’s an unfortunate sensibility to it – animals (including people) are naturally drawn to water, and consequently, walk along a stream’s edge. Pathways form. Pathways become well-traveled trails. Over time, the easiest to use of these trails become horse, cart, or wagon routes, then dirt roads for cars, then small highways for trucks, then freeways for interstate traffic. That is the story of Parleys Canyon, which has been built quite literally over Parleys Creek – the water that carved the canyon is now nowhere to be seen throughout most of the canyon.

Thanks to a number of preservation and restoration efforts, Parleys Creek surfaces just inside the Salt Lake Valley at an expansive dog-friendly nature park. Many happy beings spend time in those waters. And people like playing in the creek, too.

Spring swollen Parleys Creek emerges from unhandsome infrastructure, but then quickly finds its aesthetic footing.

The creek has access points for dogs (one is pictured above) along a series of interconnected pathways. There is no paving here, and at any given time a number of planting restoration projects are in progress. At the low end of the natural area, the creek crosses under Interstate 80, suddenly finding itself amongst high society – the secreted portions of the creek that run through the turfed grounds of the Salt Lake Country Club must be spectacular…

Parleys Creek at a road intersecting the Salt Lake Country Club. No commentary here, just a photo of the chain link and barbed wire that keeps this public asset nice and safe.

Freed from upstream bucolic bondage, the creek next meanders through Sugarhouse Park. The topography created by the creek is used well within the park, culminating in a large pond pictured at the beginning of this post. On the day I took the pictures to go along with this writing I saw kids playing, birds eating, and someone fishing at the water’s edge – all direct contact interactions that are worth remembering…

Parleys Creek passing under a flood-worn bridge in Sugarhouse Park. The turf is worn away where dogs and their people enter the creek to play.

From the park, the creek passes under a major arterial on this side of the city, daylighting again in another natural area called Hidden Hollow. True to its name, the Hollow is tucked into the city fabric such that you cannot see it from the road, but in a thoughtful manner that still draws you in. Over the last 30 years, development has been encouraged to interact with the Hollow – there are pathways and plazas that touch it on all sides.

Interpretive signage along Parleys Creek within Hidden Hollow - and the namesake for this post.

A short distance from the above image, the creek dips below ground again, this time behind an enormous flood control grate that is used to manage debris that collects during spring runoff and storm events. I took a picture of it, but it’s more infrastructure that is really hard to look at. So I will spare you the sight of it.

Just beyond that flood grate, there is a very small constructed streamlet, presumably flowing from Parleys Creek itself, that moves through a commercial shopping area. It’s not fair to say that this is still Parleys Creek, but in some ways, isn’t it? I applaud the extra 200 feet of surfaced water, and am grateful for the architect’s thoughtful gesture.

Low-impact-development (LID) stormwater management asset that may very well be the last of Parleys Creek before it is piped to the Jordan River on its way to the Great Salt Lake.

Interesting story about the interaction of place, planning, design, and policy, right?

Well, here’s the news story that got me thinking about how necessary and unfortunate it is that our roadways are on top of and adjacent to our natural waterways (my understanding is that there were no injuries, which of course was my first concern). Keep in mind that rivers and streams in all places have effectively become the dumping ground for more than the odd fuel spill – daily engine oil and coolant leaks, tire and brake dust from regular wear, and whatever folks decide to toss out of their car, are all a cause for concern when it comes to the health of our natural waterways and the life that depends on them (including us).

That said, I’m impressed with the groups that contribute solutions to situations such as those surrounding Parleys Creek. The journalists getting the word out of the fuel spill, the Fire Department for mitigating the contamination, and the city and county planners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, and engineers that have protected and restored this section of Parleys Creek in the first place.

If you want to help out, check out Seven Canyons Trust – a nonprofit working to uncover and restore the buried and impaired creeks in the Salt Lake Valley – or find a similar organization in your PLACE.