Boise Transportation Thread

[Cottonwood]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/enter...289076789.html

Boise Airport plans major food and drink overhaul, expansion: Starbucks, Treefort, more
BY MICHAEL DEEDS UPDATED JUNE 06, 2024 6:09 PM

The entertainment overhaul ranges from welcoming Starbucks into the airport to unveiling a new Treefort Music Fest-branded restaurant and bar. (Additional details weren’t immediately available from Treefort organizers about the hangout, but a rendering showed a musician performing live.)


Other concessions newcomers will include Protein Bar & Kitchen, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s, along with local brands Flying M Coffee, The STIL ice cream shop, Waffle Me Up, Blue Sky Bagels, Form + Function, Turas Flights and Bites by Telaya Wine Co. Bardenay, a local cocktail favorite already at the airport, will stay but be “reimagined,” according to the release.
Read more at: https://www.idahostatesman.com/enter...#storylink=cpy

[jthomps4]

Alaska Airlines just announced new routes starting this winter. They will fly have year-round service to Orlando and seasonal service to Bozeman and Orange County. The airport has incentives for some new routes, so hopefully these remain after the money runs out.

[Atlas]

While in Boise last week I visited the Boise Depot. This got me thinking about rail transit. I'm not familiar with the history of Boise's efforts to build light rail, but this seems like a very straightforward route with very high potential to me:



Airport-downtown connection
Greenbelt connection
Zoo proximity
Boise State proximity
Boise Depot connection (future interstate rail connection)
Other infill stations, density along route

[TVurban]

Agreed. I've also thought this would be a no-brainer line. Though, I think it'd more likely be a phase 2 project with the initial phase going down either Fairview or State.

[Evo5Boise]

I remember when I was in high school Boise tried a commuter train on the railroad tracks. It was a test pilot. I remember seeing the commuter train car going up and down the railroad. I thought it was a fantastic idea and I am not sure why it never caught on (money, I'd guess).

Funny enough, I'm having a hard time finding info about it online. The best I found was actually from the Lewiston, Idaho newspaper.

https://www.lmtribune.com/northwest/...c2886522c.html

[Cottonwood]

Our last mayor had a vision for a trolley line extending from the Airport to the Depot and into downtown. Light rail or train commuting has been a big topic of discussion recently with mayors in the valley.

This editorial offers some insight about the struggle.



Think Boise’s growth problems are bad now? We ain’t seen nothin’ yet | Opinion BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD JUNE 14, 2024 4:00 AM
Read more at: https://www.idahostatesman.com/opini...#storylink=cpy

As the Idaho Statesman’s Nick Rosenberger detailed in a story this week, Micron’s massive expansion in Boise could add up to 15,000 related jobs. That’s on top of the ongoing influx of new residents flooding into the Treasure Valley.

But the Treasure Valley’s estimated population hasn’t even hit a million people; it still sits at about 822,000.

Compass estimates that the region will need approximately $11.1 billion in transportation funding over the next 25 years, with an estimated $193 million shortfall every year between now and 2050. Where is that money going to come from?

We have a solution. It’s called a local option tax, which is an addition to the sales tax in a local area, whether it’s citywide or countywide. It could be something as small as a half-cent, such as the sales tax addition in Salt Lake City that generates about $35 million per year.

Read more at: https://www.idahostatesman.com/opini...#storylink=cpy

[Houstonian]

Originally Posted by Atlas

While in Boise last week I visited the Boise Depot. This got me thinking about rail transit. I'm not familiar with the history of Boise's efforts to build light rail, but this seems like a very straightforward route with very high potential to me:

Airport-downtown connection
Greenbelt connection
Zoo proximity
Boise State proximity
Boise Depot connection (future interstate rail connection)
Other infill stations, density along route

Another option would be Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), similar to what Spokane has implemented.

[Houstonian]

Adding an east-west BRT going from Park Center, through downtown or BSU, and then up Chinden or State would be a great way to eround out the system.

[Cottonwood]

https://boisedev.com/2024/07/30/state-street-redesign/

ACHD to cut vehicle lanes on portion of State St. in favor of bike, walking areas
By Margaret Carmel - BoiseDev Sr. Reporter
July 29, 2024

One of Idaho’s busiest roadways is getting a makeover through downtown Boise.

Of the three alternatives with a mix of lanes and amenities for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers, the commissioners selected the option to shrink the street from four vehicle lanes to three.

The extra right of way will be used to add wider sidewalks on either side to make room for more pedestrians and cyclists and specified pullouts for buses to stop so traffic can continue while buses pick up and drop off passengers.

[Sawtooth]

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

https://boisedev.com/2024/07/30/state-street-redesign/

ACHD to cut vehicle lanes on portion of State St. in favor of bike, walking areas
By Margaret Carmel - BoiseDev Sr. Reporter
July 29, 2024

This should also be done to Front and Myrtle in the downtown core.

[Hot_Onions]

I know ACHD and many would probably have a heart attack but I genuinely think that cutting Front and Myrtle from 5 lanes to 3 and using that extra space to add more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure/better streetscapes would be a huge improvement to the downtown core in many ways. I'm not a road expert but I can't imagine having 2 5 lane roads running through the city is truly needed. Alternatively, I think using that space for more daring usage *cough cough light rail* would also be a good idea.