Boise Transportation Thread

[BoiseAirport]

Here it is.

Allegiant Air to offer nonstop flights from Boise to Hawaii, Las Vegas

August 7th, 2012

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...r-nonstop.html

A new airline is coming to the Boise Airport, offering flights to two destinations.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air announced Tuesday that it will offer Boise nonstop flights to Honolulu and Las Vegas.

Honolulu service will begin Feb. 10 with introductory fares starting at $180 one way. Las Vegas service will begin Oct. 26 with introductory fares starting at $62 one way.

"We are extremely pleased Allegiant has selected Boise as one of their new markets for Hawaii service," said Rebecca Hupp, director of the Boise Airport.

[isangpogi]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

I was selfishly hoping it would be just Boise so we could blow a raspberry to Spokane, but alas. *bbblbblblblbtttt* choke on that Albuquerque!

Haha but hey we did get 2x weekly to Las Vegas in addition to our once weekly to Honolulu! I'm assuming the Honolulu service will be on 757s and the Vegas flights will be MD-80s? I'm really hoping we can fill up a 757 every week to Hawaii, because Allegiant has about the patience of a 2 year-old when it enters new markets. I'm thinking that especially during the promotional period we could get travelers from as far away as Salt Lake, Idaho Falls, Reno and Eastern Oregon coming to Boise for the cheap flights over.

[BoiseAirport]

Originally Posted by isangpogi

Haha but hey we did get 2x weekly to Las Vegas in addition to our once weekly to Honolulu! I'm assuming the Honolulu service will be on 757s and the Vegas flights will be MD-80s? I'm really hoping we can fill up a 757 every week to Hawaii, because Allegiant has about the patience of a 2 year-old when it enters new markets. I'm thinking that especially during the promotional period we could get travelers from as far away as Salt Lake, Idaho Falls, Reno and Eastern Oregon coming to Boise for the cheap flights over.

From everything I've read online it sounds like the Vegas flights are also on the 757-200. If true this will probably help them gain a further CASM advantage to compete with Southwest. Speaking of which, Allegiant almost never enters markets with competition, so to see them go up against 2x daily Southwest flights is somewhat rare for them.

[boi2socal]

Originally Posted by isangpogi

Haha but hey we did get 2x weekly to Las Vegas in addition to our once weekly to Honolulu! I'm assuming the Honolulu service will be on 757s and the Vegas flights will be MD-80s? I'm really hoping we can fill up a 757 every week to Hawaii, because Allegiant has about the patience of a 2 year-old when it enters new markets. I'm thinking that especially during the promotional period we could get travelers from as far away as Salt Lake, Idaho Falls, Reno and Eastern Oregon coming to Boise for the cheap flights over.

They're getting some A319s sometime soon too. Based on their Facebook page it seems they take some pretty heavy maintenance delays. See many complaints about 8 to 9 hour delays. While on Alaska's page people get angry about 30 minute delays. lol. Obviously, different type of travelers. Their Facebook person also just copy and pastes the same replies, except for one time the Allegiant rep responded to a customer's complaint of only one check in agent, "lean staff=lean fares." Yipes!

[boi2socal]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

From everything I've read online it sounds like the Vegas flights are also on the 757-200. If true this will probably help them gain a further CASM advantage to compete with Southwest. Speaking of which, Allegiant almost never enters markets with competition, so to see them go up against 2x daily Southwest flights is somewhat rare for them.

Southwest, despite its reputation actually has a lot of business and savvy travelers. I doubt this will have much impact on Southwest. These are essentially scheduled charters. They will require advertising to be successful or no one will know about them.

[isangpogi]

Originally Posted by boi2socal

These are essentially scheduled charters. They will require advertising to be successful or no one will know about them.

That's a great way to put it: Scheduled charters. I have a feeling they'll do well in Boise, a very price-conscious market. The question in my mind is will they do well enough to fill a 757 every week all year-round? Allegiant is pretty merciless, they don't enter a market to provide air service, they enter the market to make money. If they don't make enough, they have no reservations against pulling out and laying off local employees.

[ATLonthebrain]

BOI-HNL will be operated with B757's - BOI-LAS will be operated with MD80's..

There is already sufficient traffic @ BOI to support 1x weekly HNL service with an average of about 60 daily one-way passengers. Whether it will work is up to the potential travelers in the market. Any airline, not just Allegiant, is about making money when it enters a new market. These are businesses, after all. The difference with Allegiant is that its profits are primarily driven by vacation packages. So, if not a strong enough % of the passengers onboard have purchased packages, then the service will not last.

We can call it whatever we want. The important thing is that Allegiant has now established that it is willing to go into non-traditional markets, at least not markets which fit its normal business model (with the BOI & GEG announcements). The BOI decision is even more significant than GEG due to G4's nod to also initiate LAS service. This is a great thing, in my opinion. The HNL fares, even with fees, will still come out to be cheaper in most instances than those offered by competitors. The differentiating factor is that G4's flights will be nonstop, and that's a BIG deal. It shaves about 2-hours from the travel time in each direction, and removes the "connecting at a big airport factor". The simplicity of enplaning @ BOI and deplaning @ HNL will appeal to some who would not have otherwise considered going to HI. That, combined with the attractive fares and market stimulation, should make this a successful route.

Lastly, this wasn't a rush decision by G4. This was a nearly 2-year consideration to enter the BOI market, so there was extensive internal analysis combined with data and other supporting information supplied by BOI. The service is out there for sale, and it's time for the market to react/respond. As others said concerning the LAS service, this really should have little to no impact on WN. There's a big difference between 2x weekly point-to-point service targeting a purely leisure market with 2x daily service offering a long list of connections via LAS.

This announcement was the perfect way to end my affiliation w/BOI. The time & effort put forth to sell G4 on BOI's market potential paid off! And, that chapter is now closed..it was a fun run, for sure.

Aloha, BOI!

[City Of Trees]

More good Greenbelt news.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...greenbelt.html

Garden City gets money for Greenbelt bridge

How much? Garden City received a $727,760 Federal Highway Administration grant to design and construct the Garden City West Bridge — a bicycle and pedestrian span that will cross the Boise River and connect bike paths between Glenwood Street and Eagle Road. The grant is enough to pay for the entire project.

When will the bridge be built? Mayor John Evans said its design and other details are still being finalized, but the bridge should be in place by next summer.

[Cottonwood]

Will this new bridge detour bikers away from the anti biking Riverside Village area in Garden City?

[City Of Trees]

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

Will this new bridge detour bikers away from the anti biking Riverside Village area in Garden City?

Yes--I believe it will cross the river right before the Eagle Island channel divide.

[Cottonwood]

Thanks.




http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/...lks-bike-lanes

ACHD FY 2013 Budget: $89.2 Million for Expansions, Sidewalks, Lanes
Posted by George Prentice on Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 1:27 PM


http://www.achdidaho.org/Departments...g_Document.pdf

[Cottonwood]

http://www.huduser.org/portal/sustai..._072512_1.html

Elements That Influence Bike Commuting


Cyclists ride in the dedicated Pennsylvania Avenue Cycletrack in Washington, DC Nevertheless, the study found that cities with more bike paths and lanes, on-street lanes, and off-street paths have higher rates of bike commuters. Other findings included:

Of the 90 U.S. cities included in the study, Portland, Madison, Minneapolis, Boise, and Seattle had the highest percentages of bike commuters.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

and here is a study, the link is referenced in the above article.

http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/bikepaths.pdf

Rank % of commuters by bike
1 Portland, OR
2 Madison, WI
3 Minneapolis, MN
4 Boise, ID
5 Seattle, WA
6 San Francisco, CA
7 Sacramento, CA
8 Washington, DC
9 Oakland, CA
10 Tucson, AZ

[Cottonwood]

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...-en-words.html


https://www.facebook.com/anewbike


New blog tells Treasure Valley bikers’ stories. Its writers want to hear yours.
By ANNA WEBB — awebb@idahostatesman.com

According to “The Naked City,” a 1948 film noir, there are “8 million stories” in any city. Boiseans Andrew Ford and Glenn Landberg are out to prove that more than a few of them are about bicycles.

Their blog, “A New Bike,” features a collection of stories about what it’s like to ride a bike — on principle, through snow, with a disability, in search of solitude or out of necessity.

[BoiseAirport]

Thanks for posting Cottonwood! Since moving downtown, I hardly ever use a car anymore, my bike is perfect for getting around.

Also I missed your previous post, that's awesome to hear. I'm pleasantly surprised we were able to beat out Austin and San Francisco. No question there are few cities better to be a cyclist than Boise.

[boisecynic]

Don't know where else to ask this. Sometimes BOI routes big planes right over downtown/north end on their downwind leg for both 10 and 28. Anyone know why they do this? I have always been on straight in approaches. I'd give anything to have the view they have when downwind over downtown. Anyone ever fly right over downtown during landing approach?

Also, iirc, they used to fly downwind legs over downtown much more often. Didn't they change this 5 or 6 years ago? Can't remember the story. Anyway, with so much desert to the south it seems flying over town would never be necessary. Not complaining, just observing.

[Cottonwood]

http://www.boiseweekly.com/Cobweb/ar...all-bike-count

ACHD Starts Fall Bike Count

Posted by Deanna Darr on Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 1:22 PM

If you're riding your bike though Boise in the next few days and see some suspicious characters with clipboards, hold off calling the cops—it's the Ada County Highway District.

ACHD is conducting its fall bike count between Sept. 11 and Thursday, Sept. 13, as well as Saturday, Sept. 15. Volunteers will count bikers at popular intersections and roadways as well as areas where improvement project are either planned or have been completed recently.

The counts not only help focus efforts but help planners see how useful some past projects have been—including the recently added green bike lanes and shared-lane markings. This count will take a special focus on the Broadway Bridge as well.

[TreasureValley]

Speaking of those green bike lanes, does anyone know if they're thinking about expanding them to more places? I really like them. Both aesthetically and practically they're a great touch! I'd like to see more of them all over the city!

[Cottonwood]

Originally Posted by TreasureValley

Speaking of those green bike lanes, does anyone know if they're thinking about expanding them to more places? I really like them. Both aesthetically and practically they're a great touch! I'd like to see more of them all over the city!

I heard through the vine that they are planning on expanding the green lanes thus the reason the people counting cyclists are out to see what streets are popular for bike commuting.

[BoiseAirport]

Retooling Boise's Broadway Avenue


September 18th, 2012

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...-broadway.html

The projects belong to the Idaho Transportation Department, but stakeholders will have a lot to say about how the busy road looks when the work is done.

The list of people with a vested interest in the overhauls of the Broadway Bridge and the avenue’s Interstate 84 overpass includes the city of Boise, St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center, Boise State University and business managers on both sides of the bridge.

St. Luke’s is in favor of “whatever would increase the traffic flow to our facility,” spokesman Ken Dey said.

[City Of Trees]

You beat me to it, BA. I can add that ITD has materials of its own now up for the bridge. It summed up the issues with the bridge very well, including the Greenbelt difficulties.

http://itd.idaho.gov/Projects/D3/Bro...nt/default.asp
http://itd.idaho.gov/Projects/D3/Bro..._letter2S6.pdf

As far as the I-84 interchange goes, what they really need to do (and I once saw proposals for this many years ago) is to create a cloverleaf loop on the eastbound-to-northbound approach (it would be the southeast corner of the interchange). A SPUI would be nice, but there's an unbalanced flow of traffic that would really benefit from uninterrupted access.