(KUTV) A barrier is going up between Salt Lake City's homeless shelter and The Gateway mall –- and your tax dollars are paying for it.

A block-long fence will soon separate the mall and the shelter on 200 South, between 400 West and 500 West. This came at the request of The Gateway,

But the mall’s owners, retail management firm Vestar, won’t be forking over any money to get it done.



According to Mike Reberg, director of the Salt Lake City Department of Community & Neighborhoods, Vestar approached the mayor’s office last year with “some safety concerns with a lot of people jaywalking” on 200 South.

The city, along with the Utah Transit Authority, studied that issue, and they both agreed.

“It’s just a dangerous mixture of jaywalking and buses and trains,” Reberg said.

In October, the sides came up with a plan to install "5-foot high black vinyl chain link fencing" on both sides of the TRAX lines, according to emails between the city, UTA and Vestar.

The plan also called for getting rid of the crosswalk in the middle of the block, connecting the shelter and the mall.

“We’re just going to actually ask people to go to the end of the block and cross at the light where people can see and it's safe,” Reberg said.

2News learned about the plan through a recent public records request with Salt Lake City. Vestar did not return multiple messages seeking comment about its intentions behind the fence and crosswalk removal.

But emails obtained by 2News show the company has been very anxious to get this done.

"Hello all, following up on this?” wrote Jenny Cushing, Vestar’s vice president of leasing, in November. ”What is the status?”

In February, Cushing wrote again, “Can you please provide an update on where we are with this?”

But for all their pushing, The Gateway's owners will end up paying nothing. This entire project will be funded with public money.

“UTA is paying for the fence,” said Reberg. “That's the bulk of the cost.”

That comes out to about $42,000, according to UTA spokesman Remi Barron.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City will pay a “few thousand dollars” to remove striping and signage, Reberg said. That is less than the $15,000 he estimated it would cost in an email he wrote in October.

Barron told 2News in a statement Thursday, "Safety is our top priority and we have constructed similar fencing at other locations." He pointed to the stop near City Creek as an example, although the fence there is clearly much shorter than five feet. Plus, the fence near the mall will be much longer, running an entire city block.

According to the city, the new fence will be built in the next few weeks, and the existing mid-block crosswalk will be removed.

"There is a lot of jaywalking, it happens a lot," Reberg said. "Some of those jaywalkers do come from the shelter, absolutely. I mean, that's part of the issue there, there's no question about it. But there is a safety issue."

Reberg insisted the fence is not intended to block the homeless shelter from the view of the mall.

2News reached out to several social services along 200 South Thursday afternoon to ask their thoughts about the upcoming project. The associate director of Catholic Community Services, Matt Nelville, responded this was the first he had heard of it.

Editor's Note: After this story aired on 2News, Vestar vice president of leasing Jenny Cushing released the following statement through a spokesperson:

When Vestar took over The Gateway last spring, we assessed the safety and security needs of the property and were concerned about the dangerous conditions at the 200 South intersection. Along with the community, we voiced our concerns and after an investigation, both the City and UTA took action, concurring it needed to be closed. This is an important issue surrounding public safety and we want to be the best community partner we can be. It's our job to be diligent in ensuring the safety of our patrons, employees, and residents - -that's our top priority.