Comments on: Bike Shop Wants Space For Cars

By: Steve Rinehart

Steve Rinehart — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 02:49:32 +0000

Looking past the conspiracy theories: IMT is more than a bike shop, and sells a variety of good outdoor activity gear; many who shop there, even for bike stuff, live aways away: if your bike is broken it is handy to drive to the bike shop. So, really, it is not unreasonable to suggest waiting off on the turn lane to see if there is a problem, and meanwhile keeping the parking in front of the store. FYI, I drive and bike.

By: Zippo

Zippo — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 02:16:00 +0000

What good is a bicycle if ya gotta strap it to a fancy overpriced stylish SUV anyway.

By: Bieter Begone

Bieter Begone — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:19:30 +0000

Crony capitalism is alive and well in the bieter administration. Guess that’s okay when ones ox is not gored.

By: J Smith

J Smith — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 04:35:00 +0000

I’ve parked there dozens of times. Darn near every time I’ve shopped at IMT. I would think they need those spaces.
I also think all the bigwigs are evil, but not in this case, it’s a sensible decision. One of the very few…

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 00:55:38 +0000

Ted, as far as I understand, Idaho Law is what is keeping the CCDC money flowing – the urban renewal/tax increment financing that redirects property taxes to CCDC. But these districts have an expiration date (I think the central downtown one expires next year or the year after).

In this thread and others, it has been pointed out that cyclists are taxpayers too, and deserve infrastructure, especially where they’re most concentrated, which is downtown.

By: Easterner

Easterner — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 00:41:35 +0000

Kind of on the topic, my prediction:
these 2 way streets are going to be bad for downtown traffic.
The street configuration was indeed bad before and needed to be changed- but ACHD/Boise went the wrong direction (get it? ‘wrong direction’).

Within 2 years, more cycle/car collisions, more car/pedestrian collisions, and more cars driving aggressively, on those streets and at those intersections. 2cents.

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 23:24:51 +0000

I can confirm that Gardner Co and Tom Alquist are in Beiter’s pocket and visa versa and that Alquist will do anything to preserve the CCDC and the money that flows.

We live in a city were 5 bikes get more attention than 5,000 cars and the tax payers that drive them.

By: bikeboy

bikeboy — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 22:05:15 +0000

Bieter Begone: Why a bike shop needs parking is a mystery.

I can’t believe somebody really posted such a silly comment. (At least a “pen name” was used…)

Um… Idaho Mountain Touring sells bikes. They also sell a wide variety of hiking, running, camping, cross-country skiing, etc., gear. And they must be doing it successfully – they’ve been in business, in several locations in downtown Boise, for years and years.

And even if they only sold bikes… the vast majority of cyclists ride “toy” bikes – you know, for their bike-riding hobbies. They drive to get where they’re going, and their motor vehicles require parking spaces. (The thoughtless subsidization of vast motor-vehicle infrastructure is another topic for another day.)

Surely the Big Brains at the “Downtown Boise Implementation Plan” realized that reconfiguring the streets would result in parking issues, intersection waiting-to-cross issues, etc.

Like many other folks whose jobs force them downtown, I’ve seen the changes to the streets. Not sure I’ve yet witnessed how things are better now, than back in the one-way Dark Ages.

(I hope I.M.T. gets their parking spaces – they are good people and I’d rather deal with locals than with the suburban chain sporting-goods and bicycle stores.)

By: Easterner

Easterner — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 21:39:15 +0000

The story at that intersection and others downtown, is why in the heck has it taken so long?

IMT has certainly lost sales due to that intersection being torn up, road closed, parking lost during construction.
If they can’t install the traffic light posts until September, maybe they should not have ripped out the sidewalks in ?June?. It’s been so long I can’t remember.

ANOTHER cluster by ACHD.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 21:23:06 +0000

Bieter Begone, what exactly does Gardner Co. have to do with this? This sounds like Boise City and ACHD attempting to be more responsive and accommodating of affected businesses, regarding road changes nearby. Would you rather than ACHD listen less, and just do what they want?