Hearing about skybridge Tuesday

The Salt Lake City Council will hear public input Tuesday on plans for a pedestrian skybridge over Main Street.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in its plans for the City Creek Center mixed-use development, which will replace the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza malls downtown, wants to build the skywalk to connect the two blocks and ease the shopping experience for visitors to the development.

But a number of city officials and residents, backed by a pair of downtown planning documents, see skywalks as a risk to view corridors and street-level pedes- trian activity.

The council is considering amending the planning documents, with possible language proposed by both the Planning Commission and a council subcommittee, to allow skywalks in certain situations.

Those amendments would require a developer to show that there is no viable street-level alternative and that pedestrian activity and view corridors would be protected.

The council's agenda leaves open the possibility of a vote at Tuesday's meeting, though church officials hope the public hearing will be continued at an April meeting.

Tuesday's meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the City-County Building, 450 S. State St.