Pioneer Park: Friend or Foe?

For those that live or have lived in Salt Lake City, you know all about Pioneer Park. It is a downtown park on 3rd West and about 3rd South. It has quite a history though often not a pleasant one. It is the park that loves drugs. By that, I mean that there are more drug dealers and troublemakers per squarefoot than anywhere else in Utah and it aint even close.




I remember my freshman year in high school taking the school bus from the Avenues to West High School (we were the first class from the avenues to go to West High) and we would go under the viaduct close to Pioneer Park. One of our classmates yells loudly, 'look, there is a dead body there.' We didn't see many dead bodies up in the avenues so this was thrilling and we all rushed over to the side of the bus for a better look. He was lying on the ground and he wasn't moving so he was either sleeping or he was dead. Nobody really knows if it was a dead body but it made a halfway decent story.

Anyway, SLC has little idea what to do with the park. People stay away because of the drugs, sex and rock and roll (rock and roll being the poor homeless man playing his ukelele). But with large developments going on around it (Gateway, $1 million loft apartments, etc.), the city is stepping up its efforts to clean it up and have it be a destination spot for families who are visiting downtown.

The Farmers Market is a funky food and crafts place every Saturday at Pioneer Park. Brodi and I go at least a couple of times every month to pick up bread, drinks and a little crack cocaine (just kidding). The kids have a blast. They get to wander around and pet dogs, play with trinkets and eat some food. For one day at least, Pioneer Park becomes a fun place to hang out.