City Government
Tumble Highlights Need To Develop Park
August 2, 2010 
A teen aged girl took a tumble off Table Rock Sunday eve apparently while taking a photo.
Boise firefighters and paramedics who responded to the call of a teenage girl falling off a 20-foot cliff on Table Rock say the young woman was taken to the hospital with injuries that appeared to be non-life threatening, including a broken bone and scrapes.
The GUARDIAN and some readers have advocated making improvements to the landmark which provides spectacular views of the valley. We figure the first move would be to install safety rails or a low masonry rock wall around the rim…which would certainly reduce fall hazards like the one Sunday night.
The land is owned by the State of Idaho and managed by the Historical Society as part of the Old Pen Museum. Critics of the idea cite traffic on the high value Table Rock Road residential street and vandalism as reasons to close the area which is currently open Thursday through Sundays.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Aug 2, 2010, 5:35 pm
This will be an excuse to close it completely! Improvements are doubtful because team dave didn’t think of it, and the residents along the access road have too much “muscle” with the city and county.
Aug 2, 2010, 6:17 pm
Hope she can make a full recovery… Hope the lawyers and the State do not over shoot the goal and take this gem away from all of us who have managed to use it for many decades without falling off.
Aug 2, 2010, 7:23 pm
This is an awful thing to happen – and this girl’s family must truly be devastated.
But to take this opportunity for us to drill hand railings into a natural landmark is a bad idea. There are lots of things in the world that are dangerous – and if everyone of them had a fence or barrier around them it would be quite an unsightly world.
Tens of thousands of people visit Table Rock each year, and while no one should die – a single incident should not be catalyst for knee-jerk change.
Aug 2, 2010, 9:05 pm
I hate to see anyone get injued with any kind of broken bone issues. It leads to premature arthritis in old age, I speak from personal experience. That said, there is a certain amount of personal responsiblity for the risks we take.
Too close to the edge and you risk taking a tumble. I am not certain if there was a railing there people would respect it. Just a little further out and we can get that perfect photo.
The nanny state is not something we need more of in this day and age.
Aug 3, 2010, 2:54 am
It is time to develop Table Rock into a safe place where families and small children can visit and enjoy the view.
Maybe we can improve Table Rock rather than spending money on a trolley nobody wants.
Aug 4, 2010, 10:55 am
Every one in town knows how liberal I am, but for Pete’s sake, we are talking about a teenager falling? So the firefighters can put their lives at risk because of stupidity, and every one on this site thinks we should pay for some kind of park or something? And you think she WOULDN’T have done the same thing with a railing there? Give me a break. Crap almighty. Leave the darn place alone and worry about the food banks.
Aug 5, 2010, 1:14 pm
One of the things I love about Idaho is all of the wilderness that is not ruined by handrails. I’m sorry that someone fell from the rocks, but we need to stop trying to protect everyone and hold people to personal responsibility.