Comments on: Poll Supports GUARDIAN Transit Plan

By: cyclops

cyclops — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:07:28 +0000

Maybe math isn’t my strong suit cynic. Although I have been blessed with a modicum of common sense. No doubt there were detractors to the connector as well as the green belt, and both are a success. What I fail to comprehend is how you can compare them. It is like saying Big Mike looks nice at the depot, so the trolley will be successful. Your logic escapes me! I don’t doubt the trolley would be “cute”, but a people mover? not hardly! 15-20 minute wait? Let me do the math I do understand. A trolley moves at @5 miles per hour over a 2 mile route. Given 9 stops at 5 minutes each, each trolley would take right at 1 hour to make a circuit. Given the projected 3 streetcars to run, that is 15 minutes to repeat the circuit at each stop. You know that neither of us would wait for that trolley more than once. That holds true for all the downtown workers that only have an hour at lunch, therefore negating the arguement that downtown workers would use it during the day. To hell with the 40 million, let’s just visit about the 20 million the city has to come up with. Do you know anyone, besides Clay Carley, that wants to pony up the one time expense to build it and then the 1-2 million / year to subsidize it? My most consistant problem with this mayor and city council, is that they seem to have no problem whatsoever spending our money! Whether it makes sense doesn’t seem to enter into the conversation.

By: TJ

TJ — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:31:30 +0000

In my opinion the connector is a mess. Fairview and Main into Boise have turned into a blight – businesses have dried up – prefectly good roads have no traffic. Much of the property is owned by the city of Boise and consequently collect no taxes.

I wouls like to follow the money and find out who is benefiting from making the property west of downtown Boise by the river useless and not paying property taxes. That property used to be active and dynamic.

By: boisecynic

boisecynic — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:40:41 +0000

And the downtown trolley is no Capitol Beltway. It’s all relative, cyclops. Did you fail at the maths or what?

And you still refuse to directly address my point. A vocal minority feared the connector. Yet the connector is a success.

Who said anything about waiting 15 to 20 minutes for a trolley? You’re really showing your ignorance in this thread. Besides, if you go back to my original comment you’ll see I’m not even in favor of the trolley. But those of you who misinform and outright lie are guilty of the same things you’re accusing the city government of doing.

By: cyclops

cyclops — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:46:00 +0000

Boise ain’t,and will never be D.C.!
No Washington monument, no Lincoln memorial, No Congress, no Whitehouse. We have 17 bar/restaurants, some “boutique” shops, and about 11 attorney/ CPA offices. Not to mention 1/10th. of the population. How in the name of the good Lord above, can you equate the two? I guess the same way you equate the connector with a “choo-choo”. If you really think people will wait for 15-20 minutes until the next trolley comes by, instead of walking the 2-3 blocks to where they are headed, you should really share what you are smoking!

By: boisecynic

boisecynic — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:42:22 +0000

The argument that the trolley will go nowhere is empty and utterly devoid of merit. It goes to every single place on its loop. Many cities have loops. Probably the most famous is the Capitol Beltway in suburban Wash DC. When they were building the beltway, the same arguments were heard. “The beltway goes nowhere,” the unenlightened cried.

Wrong. The Capitol Beltway spurred billions of dollars in development, and to this day, the beltway still goes nowhere. That is if you consider Tyson’s Corner, Springfield, Landover and Greenbelt, nowheres.

BTW, cyclops, you didn’t address the point I made. People opposed the Connector with all kinds of arguments. Yet, it has been a huge success. Try removing the Broadway/Chinden Connector. The outcry would make the trolley argument seem like a muffled wimper.

I don’t know why I call myself cynic. I’m a breath of fresh air compared to some of you.

By: JamesBond

JamesBond — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:22:39 +0000

I have been somewhat agnostic on Mayor Beiter. This has turned me into a motivated opponent to his administration and his future in politics.

By: ADR

ADR — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:22:07 +0000

The other side of the Boise streetcar saga that the Mayor does not want people to know about is at:

http://noboisestreetcar.blogspot.com

If the grant application is approved, the city council will vote the streetcar in REGARDLESS of what the Task Force says or what the citizens want. Bieter already has the votes. In my opinion, this is an abuse of power.

In addition:

This is the city that has a $9 million and growing deficit.

This is the city that has already spent almost $200,000 on advertising and promoting the streetcar, and wants to spend another $90,000, but cannot come up with enough money to fix the Greenbelt.

This is the city that got land donated for Williams Park but doesn’t have enough money to finish that project.

This is the city which is having trouble paying for its employees health insurance and has had to cut city programs because of funding shortfalls.

But, this is also the city which is telling us that if we do not get a streetcar, that Boise will practically fall off the edge of the earth.

Too many things wrong with the picture.

By: cyclops

cyclops — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:15:28 +0000

So let me get this straight Cynic. You want to equate an extension of a surface road with a streetcar that comes from nowhere, goes nowhere, Doesn’t take a single car off the street, and contributes to the carbon footprint of the valley? Really!!!!

By: boisecynic

boisecynic — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:59:56 +0000

I can think of a dozen better uses for the matching funds Boise will have to spend to make the trolley a reality.

However, regarding arguments from trolley opponents, I started thinking I had heard them before. It took a while then it dawned on me. The Broadway-Chinden Connector. “We can’t afford it!” “We don’t need it!” “The streets will be torn up!”

Check out pics of the 1976 brochure in the 2nd and 3rd pics at the link below. Should I transcribe it? So you opponents can just cut and paste and not have to do your own writing?

The info over at the following link is available at the downtown library.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=131760

By: Zippo

Zippo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:28:07 +0000

Does the Editor have ridership numbers available. I have yet to see a bus with more than a handfull of people on it. Maybe if it became super costly and ran on rails the numbers would improve?