Boise Guardian » Tourism

Ironman Event To Dominate Boise Streets

dave — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:34:09 +0000

Boise is in the middle of a five year run of Ironman constest which will have a major impact on driving patterns around the city on Saturday.

What a wonderful thing it is to be chosen to host this run-swim-bike contest of athletes. The economic impact and notoriety should help bring jobs and business to the “most remote city of its size in North America.”

Click to get full details of street closures from Ada County Highway Department.

Traffic Advisory
Ada County Highway District

June 10, 2010
Information Contact:
Robbie Johnson
Office: 208-387-6228
Cell: 208-860-6628

Major impacts to drivers expected during Boise’s Ironman event

Over the course of eight hours, participants in Ironman Boise 70.3 will race through town as they complete a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run in succession. This year’s Ironman Boise will start on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 2 p.m. beginning at Lucky Peak Reservoir and end in downtown Boise on 8th Street in BoDo.

1,400 participants are expected for this event. This is the third year of a five-year agreement between the Ironman organizers and the city of Boise. Course maps and information about the event are available on the Ironman Boise Web site: www.ironmanboise.com. The maps are also attached to this email.

The Ada County Highway District (ACHD) is working with Boise City, Ironman organizers, Boise Police, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and others to prepare for the road closures necessary to make the event possible. Citizens not involved in the Ironman event are urged to prepare and take alternate routes. Detour routes will be in place for the closures and drivers should use caution. Boise Police officers will be stationed along the course and will help residents get in and out of businesses and residences during the event. There will be around 75 flaggers directing traffic and 45 volunteers will also help along the route at intersections and driveways.

ITD is planning a different approach to restrictions on Idaho 21, which is used for the cycling portion of the event. Idaho 21 has been completely closed in the cycling area in years past, but this year one lane will be maintained for traffic to get through in both directions. There are no “hard” or complete closures planned without detour routes in place.

Idaho 21 on Saturday, June 12

2:15 p.m. – Flaggers will start directing traffic between Diversion Dam and Surprise Way, and lane restrictions will be put in place.

Between Diversion Dam and Lucky Peak Dam, the right southbound lane and shoulder will be closed off to traffic. Bikes will use the closed lane, and one lane south and both lanes north will remain open to motorists.

Between Diversion Dam and Surprise Way, traffic will be restricted to one lane. Vehicles will be guided northbound or southbound one direction at a time.

Between Surprise Way and Technology Lane one lane in each direction will be maintained.

7:30 p.m. – Based on past years, the last bicyclist is anticipated to move through by this time. Traffic flagging will end as soon as the last rider leaves Idaho 21.

7:45 p.m. – The highway returns to normal operations.

Other ITD roads impacted Saturday, June 12

Noon – Front Street will close between 6th and 9th streets. Traffic will be detoured north on Capitol, west on Idaho, south on 9th back to Front. This area will be the first-aid medical station and the command center for law enforcement during the event.

Between 2:40 p.m. and 7 p.m. the I-84 Eisenman interchange ramps will be closed and traffic will be detoured to the Gowen interchange. The closure of the Eisenman interchange allows the bicycling portion of the competition to be rerouted away from the Gowen interchange and the Idaho 21/Federal Way intersection, which are more heavily used by motorists. The interchange is expected to reopen as soon as the last cyclist gets through the area.

4 p.m. – Myrtle Street will close between Capitol Boulevard and 9th Street. Traffic will be detoured north on 11th, east on Main Street, south on 3rd back to Myrtle.

11 p.m. – Myrtle Street will return to normal operations.

After midnight – Front Street will return to normal operations.

ACHD roads impacted include:

Full closures

8th Street between Broad Street and Front Street closed Thursday, June 10 (today) at 8 a.m. and will be back open Sunday at 8 a.m.

Capitol Boulevard between Myrtle Street and Front Street will be closed Friday, June 11 from 6 p.m. to Sunday, June 13 at 12:30 a.m.

Broad Street between Capitol Boulevard and 9th Street will be closed between 4:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

Pleasant Valley Road from Gowen Road to Ten Mile Creek Road will be closed from 3 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Ten Mile Creek Road will be closed from Pleasant Valley Road to South Cole Road from 3:20 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Eisenman Road from Interstate 84 to the Boise Factory Outlets mall will be closed from 2:50 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Federal Way and Capitol Boulevard will be closed between Protest Road and Myrtle Street from 4:30 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. Saturday.

Lane restrictions

Warm Springs Avenue between Highway 21 to the ParkCenter Bridge will have a lane restriction and delays between 4 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. Saturday. Only northbound traffic will be allowed between Highway 21 and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. The Shakespeare Festival will be accessible from town, but expect detours and delays.

Gowen Road between Eisenman Road and Pleasant Valley will be westbound traffic only between 2:50 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Holcomb/Bergeson between Boise Avenue and Federal Way will only be open to eastbound traffic from 4:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

ACHD will have special traffic signal timing plans for the closures on Capitol, Front and Myrtle to help move traffic. An ACHD traffic operations engineer will be at the ACHD Traffic Management Center Saturday monitoring traffic conditions and adjusting signals if needed.

Reader boards on local highways and the Connector are in place to alert motorists to the closures. Ironman organizers distributed 5600 mailers describing traffic impacts to residents.

Idaho Parks Floats Safety Program

dave — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:15:14 +0000

CASCADE LIFE JACKET LOANER STATION

The unofficial start of boating season in Idaho was over the Memorial Day Weekend and if boaters take advantage of a new “Life Jacket Loaner Station,” It could be a safe season.

The GUARDIAN paid a visit to the Cascade boat dock near the Golf Course and was met with this interesting sign and free life jacket loaner station. Lets hope it works well and the jackets don’t end up where the shouldn’t.

The plan certainly merits monitoring and if the jackets remain available for those who need them–and get returned, it could catch on at other busy locations.

UPDATE FROM RICK JUST AT IDAHO PARKS–”We’ve had a loaner program for years, but the life jackets were never easily accessible. You always had to chase down a ranger. Putting them out for easy access is new this year. Similar programs have experienced loss rates of around 1%. The life jackets are very identifiable, which should encourage their return.”

Background on the program follows.

One of Idaho Parks and Recreation’s goals is to educate boaters on the significance of wearing the appropriate size and type of life jacket while boating. Another is to make sure a day of boating isn’t spoiled just because a family forgot a life jacket at home. And finally, the most important goal: simply to keep boaters safe out on the water!

The group or waterfront location accepted into the program will receive 16 various-sized life jackets, as well as a kiosk to display the life jackets. The life jackets should be displayed in prominent location—like near a boating ramp. A boating family can then check out the life jacket for a day, free of charge. At the end of the boating trip, they can return it to the same location.

Having free life jackets available will not only provide immediate protection for the boater, but in cases where the boater is breaking the law by not having their children in life jackets, the vessel operator will not be forced off the water for non-compliance.

This program isn’t new; the first life jacket loaner station began in Homer, Alaska in early 1996. The Homer Fire Department, with a grant from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, collaborated with Homer Safe Kids, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the Homer School District to establish 15 life jacket loaner stations in communities around Kachemak Bay. The stations, or “loaner boards,” display life jackets that can be borrowed at no cost and returned after use. The public response was so positive that, in November of that same year, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Section of Community Health and EMS, the U.S. Coast Guard District 17 Recreational Boating Safety Program, and Alaska Safe Kids partnered to expand the program.

Alaska’s life jacket loaner board program has been a success. More than 466 Kids Don’t Float (KDF) loaner boards have been placed in communities around the state, hosted by many different agencies, organizations, and individuals. At least fifteen Alaskan children are known to have survived a near-drowning accident because of a Kids Don’t Float life jacket. In a 1997 study, the observed life jacket wear increased from 16% to 35% at a loaner board site immediately following its installation. A 2001 observational wear-rate study conducted by the Alaska Boating Safety Program, the U.S Coast Guard D 17, and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, showed that the wear rates for children between 0 and 17 years of age increased by 25% in those areas with loaner boards.

With your help we can make a difference for Idaho’s Boating Public!

GUARDIAN Solves IPTV Forest Access Issue

dave — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:06:49 +0000

FRANK CHURCH fishing with the GUARDIAN

Our good friends at Idaho Public TV got bullied out of making images in the Frank Church Wilderness by an overzealous Forest Ranger recently and now the Guv is involved in a little matter the GUARDIAN settled years ago.

We sent the following note to Leo Kay, a friendly sounding bureaucrat who is just 8 days into the job as the top voice at the US Forest Service. Kay was cautious about committing to adopting the GUARDIAN policy, but we expect it will be included in a new policy and we will soon be watching images from the Wilderness on IPTV.

Leo Kay
Director of Communications
U.S. Forest Service
Washington, D.C.

Leo,
Appreciated the conversation this morning and gladly share the following which should easily find its way into a national policy for photographing on ANY public lands.

As a professional photographer handling assignments for the likes of TIME, NY TIMES, NEWSWEEK, etc. I found myself on public lands making photographs for “commercial use.” These days as owner of a large stock photo agency specializing in “tutorial images” for textbooks, I have encountered overzealous rangers at locations as diverse as the Capitol Mall in D.C. and the deserts of Utah.

As a “news” photographer they backed off. As a textbook photog, they often as not ordered me to secure a “camera permit,” or something else as silly. Not only did I refuse, but I challenged them to arrest me for taking photos with the clear intent of selling them.

I WON MY ISSUE at the administrative levels and obtained letters from both the Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service and the Dept. of Interior Park Service. Both letters were in may camera bag that was stolen in France last year, but I have them pretty much committed to memory. Both letters had text that read essentially as follows:

“Neither the equipment used nor the intended use of any photographs taken of or on public lands shall be of concern to department personnel.”

“Only the impact on the resource and the enjoyment of visitors shall be considered by department personnel with regard to decisions about photographing and filming. Permits and approval shall be obtained for any activities that disturb the resource, interfere with visitors enjoyment of facilities or require access to areas normally off limits. These activities would include road closures and any destruction or damage to habitat.”

“Not only should we allow filming and photographs on public lands, we should ENCOURAGE such activity as long as it is conducted in a manner consistent with general rules in place.”

The GUARDIAN notes it would be impossible to enforce prohibitions against teachers, scientists, students, tourists and others from realizing a “commercial gain” from photographs taken on or of public lands.

Warm regards,
DAVID R. FRAZIER, editor
BOISEGUARDIAN.COM

Boise Not A “Tourist Friendly Town”

dave — Mon, 10 May 2010 01:05:53 +0000

Our good friend Tim Woodward over at the DAILY PAPER posted a story Sunday with suggestions of “what to do in Boise” for a visitor with a 6 hour layover.

What my nice guy friend didn’t mention is the Boise Depot–which he suggested as worthy of a visit–is CLOSED TO VISITORS most of the time! Another formerly spectacular view is from Table Rock where one can see nearly 100 miles, but that too is closed to visitors–unless you are able to hike up a steep dirt road. The state-owned vacant hilltop Governor’s Mansion is also closed to the public.

Despite repeated (admittedly negative) comments from the GUARDIAN no one wants to step up and put directional signs around our city. Every major intersection should have directional signs like the one we saw in Sacramento last week. Until we can get our act together to tell folks what there is to see and how to get there, it is premature to even THINK about a convention center or expanded air service.

The GUARDIAN editor travels the world and Boise has to be one of the least “tourist friendly” places when it comes to directional signs. We have posted stories and images from Spain, Italy, Cleveland, Michigan, and California. All our tourist officials can come up with is plans to build a convention center.

Mr. Bieter! Open This Building!

dave — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:43:08 +0000

We have pushed for nearly 5 years to get the Boise Depot opened to the public on a routine daily basis during the summer and despite the best efforts of the GUARDIAN, the vast majority of the time it remains only a catering venue for the elite .

We have to admit the Boise Depot is no match for the Willis (formerly Sears) tower in Chicago–the Boise Depot is much more elegant and pleasing to view. However last weekend we paid $15.95 to take the elevator to the top of the Willis and since we have been to the top of both, we can tell you it is well worth a buck or two to visit the Boise tower.

The message is this: Open the Depot and the elevator for tourists so we can show off some of our history and the novelty of climbing or riding to the top of a mission-style bell tower. If Team Dave would give it a chance, promote it as a “Tourist Attraction” with proper signs, it will sell.

GUARDIAN reader Clancy sent us this note about the past weekend event at the depot.

I stopped by the Depot Day with my boys, checked out the cool cars and listened to some speeches.
They mostly talked about the history and what a great resource it is. We waited in line for a trip in the elevator up to the top. I had never done that before and enjoyed the views that I hadn’t seen of Boise. There was a sign stating that if you didn’t make it up the tower today, then come back during public hours. No hours were stated and none are listed on the website.

People were just hanging out on the lawn enjoying the nice day too. I would like to see the depot with some posted hours as it would be a fun and cheap site to see.

I also think a” Sunday Streets or Ciclavia” could be a great community event during the summer. Open the Depot to the public and close Capitol Blvd all the way to the Capitol building. Bikes and pedestrians would only be allowed during those Sunday hours. Maybe invite some local clubs to perform on a stage or have a bike show/swap and few food vendors.

That’s what they do in ancient and historic Mexico City. There are also other places that TRULY cater to bikes. Here are some links from Clancy.

Portland has a synopsis of the 2009 Sunday Parkways.

LA’s first year.
A Mexico City write up.
St. Louis

Voters Get Chance To Abolish Right To Vote

dave — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:18:47 +0000

Thanks to the generosity of the Idaho Legislature, voters in November will have a chance to abolish their constitutional right to vote on public debt. Most voters probably won’t be inclined to give up rights they already hold.

Idaho’s constitution currently mandates that all public debt in excess of a single year’s revenues be approved by voters. After GUARDIAN editor David R. Frazier won an Idaho Supreme Court decision in 2006 blocking the City of Boise’s attempt to build an airport parking garage without voter approval, banks throughout the state forced cities to follow the constitution and ask voter assent prior to loaning funds. Few cities wanted voter scrutiny and they have now used public money in efforts to lobby for constitutional amendments.

They chopped up the proposals to cover hospitals, airports, and electric generating facilities owned by cities.
Here is an ASSOCIATED PRESS story by John Miller at the Statesman site that explains the issues.

The proposed amendments required 2/3 approval of both the House and Senate. Now all three will appear on the November ballot statewide.

Bruneau Dunes Could Be Abuzz with ATVs

dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:15:44 +0000

During the Vietnam War an Army officer explained a village had to be burned “in order to save it.”

Idaho Parks Director Nancy Merrill finds herself in that same situation today as she considers allowing dune buggies to chew up the tallest free standing sand dune on the continent to possibly make a few bucks to fund parks.

She told the Associated Press that ATVs traditionally bring in more cash than “passive users”–like hikers, campers, and fishermen. Dune buggies are allowed on 11,000 acres of Federal land west of St. Anthony in Eastern Idaho.

Merrill has a good point about stimulating the local economy with ATVs. The GUARDIAN talked to some emergency responders in Freemont County who told us they sometimes dispatch 2 or 3 ambulances DAILY to the dunes in summer months. Seriously injured riders get frequent flyer miles aboard Life Flight helicopters due to the remote location and difficulty in transporting patients across the loose sand. Only one death was reported there last year, but we were told it was a , “slow year.”

Slow year or not, the Freemont County Sheriff has a permanent sub station at the dunes where full time deputies patrol the sand astride ATVs.

All this comes about in the wake of dwindling revenues and steep budget cuts in Idaho state government. Gov. Butch Otter is attempting to woo businesses to Idaho where he claims the tax climate is “business friendly.” The greenies from Oregon and California will be hard pressed to “sell” gas guzzling noisy ATVs to management and employees seeking solitude and peace in Idaho.

Butch and the lawmakers can expect a sandstorm of comments from people like the newly formed “Friends of Idaho State Parks.”

Sweet Offer From G-BAD Boys

dave — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:48:00 +0000

The Center on the Grove, operated by the Greater Boise Auditorium District (G-BAD) sent a bunch of decorated cakes to newsrooms throughout the Valley today in an effort to garner good news reports about the convention center’s 20th anniversary.

At least they haven’t claimed their so-called birthday party is a “public out reach” or an “educational” event. We would like to have someone provide us with the tab for the non-event.

The publicly owned facility, governed by an elected board, apparently joined the likes of the Idaho Transportation Department, and Team Dave’s trolley folly in using public money to hire public relations firms to stage events aimed at manipulating public opinion. The public money supporting the G-BAD comes from hotel room taxes.

After this post gets noticed by those newsies who have cut the cakes, there will no doubt be a move to either justify the expense or find a “sugar daddy” to step up and pay the tab.

While the news organizations all steadfastly claim they are not influenced by free cakes and giant poster invitations delivered by a PR firm called Red Sky, we didn’t find any interest to do a story about the expenditure of funds for the PR effort. One editor told the GUARDIAN, “They could have just sent an e-mail press release and we would have treated them the same.”

The GUARDIAN is out of the country working the day job and unable to track down the total costs for the cakes, delivery and the PR fees. We didn’t get a cake, but even if we did, we would probably still note the G-BAD Boys have failed in two attempts to get voter approval for financing an even bigger Centre On the Grove, and at least two private investor deals have failed to materialize as well over the past 20 years.

The Idaho Supreme Court also slapped their hands for illegally using public money in a partisan campaign for approval of financing bonds for the expansion proposal several years ago.

In addition to his salary, director Pat Rice gets a cut of the booze and food sales at the center, but that probably doesn’t include cakes.

French Grow Suspicious Pine Trees

dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:21:35 +0000

The GUARDIAN just got back from a week in France working on the day job, but with heart and mind still firmly tied to Boise.

We were driving through the Champagne area northeast of Paris when we spotted this perfectly straight tall pine tree. A little suspicious of this perfect speciman, we made a U-turn and stopped to photograph it for GUARDIAN readers.

It is the size we don’t see often in the Northwest these days, but closer examination showed the tree is a perfect example of a French word made popular in World War I–CAMOUFLAGE.

ORIGIN World War I: from French, from camoufler ‘to disguise’

This “tree” is actually a man made CELL PHONE TOWER. Sure would be nice to require a little french treatment on some Boise specimens.

No related posts.

North Beach Party Wreaks Havoc At McCall

dave — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:16:34 +0000

The worst fears of Idaho Park officials were realized over the July 4th weekend as nearly 2,000 wild and crazy young people cavorted at North Beach along Payette Lake in an atmosphere described by one officials as “part Mardi Gras and part Spring Break.”

Waterways board members, parks, and local law enforcement are already working on plans to deal with the wild times next year. They all agree it was clearly out of hand. The gathering has picked up steam each year–thanks in part to the internet and reality cable TV shows.

Here is a list of known and notable incidents:

Alleged assault of a female. She was injured and the assault was possibly of a sexual nature.
Several arrests and numerous incidents of drunken boat drivers.
Diving accident at nearby “Cliffs” requiring lifeflight evacuation of victim.
Cars parked on both sides of a road within the park for nearly 2 miles reducing the road to a single lane.
Multiple arrests for drunken behavior including resisting arrests.
Several alcohol induced fist fights.
Car burglary by smashing the window of a car.
At least one collision involving water craft.

A park official told us there was also plenty of “flashing and mooning” and one boat had an improvised “stripper pole” complete with amateur dancers. He also noted incidents of, “umm, ah, what you might call lap dancing.”

One official told the GUARDIAN the vast majority of Valley County law enforcement resources were focused on North Beach and the surrounding area Saturday afternoon.

Attorney General Asked To Investigate Caldwell Urban Renewal