As Nibley City set out to redesign 1200 West to better connect the bustling State Route 252 with communities in the southern end of Cache Valley, officials wanted to make sure the street would be safe for cyclists and pedestrians as it passed through a residential area. They installed a protected bike lane, enhanced pedestrian crossings and added curves in the road to slow traffic. They also put in raised concrete slabs at intersections to force drivers into slower, wider turns.
What they didn’t expect, according to Nibley Mayor Larry Jacobsen, was sustained backlash from residents.
“We thought we were doing the right thing,” he said.
Late last month, the Nibley City Council voted to remove those raised concrete corners — what engineers call “mountable islands” — after residents have continued to express concern for more than a year.
Nibley began installing the traffic islands in late 2024 at multiple intersections on the new road between 2200 South and 3200 South. Jacobsen said the city has gotten pushback from the community since the very beginning, which surprised him, especially given the public outreach campaign the city conducted prior to beginning installation.
At a public hearing held in October, Nibley residents kept the pressure on city officials, sharing worries about the islands being too close together, causing congestion and, in some cases, being unavoidable.
“Trucks have to drive over them to get through,” said Nibley resident Chase Burbank, who runs along 1200 West every day. “If someone’s waiting, it’s kind of really hard to turn left.”
On top of that, he said, they interrupted the flow of traffic as cars struggled to make the wide turns while staying in their lane.
Garrison Sagers, who lives near 1200 West, said his son was hit by a car while riding his bike in 2021 where the road intersects with 2980 South. While he thinks the intersection is better now, he called the islands “a terrible idea” and wishes the city would make the crossing a four-way stop.
“Ultimately, we wanted the intersection to be safer, and with the mountable islands, it just never felt safe. … Getting in and out of our neighborhood was crazy some days,” he said. “I just feel like there’s enough distraction on the road. I feel like all this extra stuff is added distraction.”
The city removed the slabs after the council’s Jan. 29 vote sealing their fate. As part of that vote, the council also decided to hire an engineering consultant to determine how traffic should be controlled where 1200 West intersects with Nibley Park Avenue, and where it crosses 2980 South.
Landis Wenger, Cache County’s regional trails and active transportation coordinator, said Nibely’s use of mountable islands was a first for Cache County, just as the city built the first protected bike lane along the route.
While walking and biking are becoming more popular in many cities throughout the valley, some degree of public backlash is always expected, Wenger said.
“We can never make everybody happy,” he said. “Our primary goal is to design facilities not necessarily for the people that are already out walking and biking, but how do we get more people out walking and biking? How do we make it safer for those who don’t feel like it’s safe now?”
For his part, the mayor said Nibley will need to continue balancing the needs of drivers with a desire to get more people out of their cars. He said the city recently received a grant from the Federal Highway Administration for almost $300,000 to be spent “towards the goal of safe streets for all.”