Transportation
Trolley PR Transparency Not So Clear
FROM POET PAUL– The streetcar bid was Cronin’s wish Now there seems to be something amiss The facts are apparent And may not be transparent But we can certainly see through this! Chalk one up for the DAILY PAPER! Using the public records law and some good old fashioned reporting skills, Cynthia Sewell raises some […]
How A Bad Idea Just Got Worse
Only Team Dave and a handful of people with blinders and earplugs think there is public support for a $60 million trolley to nowhere in downtown Boise. Just when we figured the issue was off track, council candidate Dave Litster sends us a lettter he received from the CCDC confirming the agency is budgeting $75,000 […]
Boise Taxpayers Pay Bill For Eagle Bus
In a move that defies logic, Boise taxpayers are spending at the rate of $1,000 a year per round trip passenger that Eagle City officials have refused to pay. It all started when Valley Transit–the regional bus outfit–said they would discontinue the “Highway 44 Express” which ran twice daily out State Street to Eaqgle, Star, […]
Poetic Trolley Talk
The GUARDIAN poet laureate “Paul” has weighed in with a short take on the trolley issue. Sixty million for a downtown trolley The mayor says “Yes, by golly!” He’s on the wrong track As a matter of fact It will become known as Bieter’s Folly!
Council Candidates Square Off Over Trolley Plan
The Team Dave proposal for a trolley in downtown Boise has touched off a round of press release exchanges between council candidates TJ Thomson and Dave Litster who are both seeking the seat of Jim Tibbs who is not running for reelection. First shot came from Litster who is aiming to circulate a petition among […]
Wisconsin Has A better Transportation Idea
Seems like the cheesehead state is getting a lot of attention these days here in Idaho. Team Dave holds out Kenosha, Wisconsin as the poster child for a Trolley Folly, former Greenbay Packer Bret Favre has everyone’s attention, we got a police chief from the capital city of Madison and now the politicos in Madison […]
Take Two Sneaky Trolley Resolution
Based on the content of a Team Dave press release and the overwhelming public opposition to awarding a $90,000 contract to Dave Bieter’s campaign ad agency, it would be fair to conclude Boise City Hall is in a bit of upheaval. Team Dave tried to sneak the bid award resolution past the council buried among […]
Trolley Open House Not So Open
A Thursday event in a vacant downtown store billed as an “Open House” to discuss Team Dave’s Trolley Folly turned out to not be so open. GUARDIAN reader “Cyclops” made an appearance and asked if the event was to educate people about the proposed trolley. Adam Park, the press secretary for Mayor Dave Bieter confirmed […]
STATESMAN Readers Bash Bieter Trolley
Mayor Dave Bieter continued his pitch for a trolley in the narrow streets of Downtown Boise with an op-ed piece in the Daily Paper Wednesday. Out of 10 comments posted so far, there was one flat out supporter, one “sorta for it” and eight who flat out were against it. Count the GUARDIAN in the […]
Who Can Drive Safely AND Text?
Lots of buzz today about proposed laws to ban texting while driving. One source claimed truck drivers were 23 times more likely to crash while texting than not texting. The Idaho branch of the American Automobile Association, AAA, endorses the idea of Idaho joining 13 other states banning texting while driving. But like everything else […]
Items Of Little Interest, But Important To Pols
Here is a list of current news topics with a typically cynical GUARDIAN SLANT. –The Park Center Bridge that Harris Ranch Developers stuck taxpayers to build so they would benefit is about to open with great fanfare from Ada County Highway District. –Micron is still slurping at the public trough. This time they got $5 […]
AMBUS Every Minute For Cost Of AMTRAK
For the cost of a daily AMTRAK train or two, the GUARDIAN can provide bus service that would run a bus EVERY MINUTE 24/7. That’s right. We got out the ol’ electronic calculator and punched in the numbers for the cost of the GUARDIAN’s fantasy AMBUS plan versus the cost of AMTRAK. Here’s how it […]
Study Shows Boise Amtrak Not In Financial Best Interest Of USA
After spending at least $374,000,000 to get the tracks and people up to speed, Amtrak would have to charge passengers an average of $353 for each ticket–IF they could get 102,000 riders–just to break even on the cheapest option for trail service to Boise, according to figures released in an Amtrak report. Politicos with overly […]
Team Dave Tries Brainwashing Public
We have long been unhappy with the efforts of Team Dave to shape public opinion on the “Trolley Folly.” Now it looks like the mayor and staff are following in the mold of the infamous Brent Coles Coles spent public funds to influence the outcome of the Foothills Tax Levy election, but it was only […]
Good Reason Why Bad Decisions Are Made
By JIMMY D. BUS Guardian Transportation Correspondent Like the politicos, when the Daily Paper recently ran a story about the possible return of AMTRAK service to southern Idaho they simply got derailed when it came to facts. Enthusiasm trumps information every time. The Daily has since run a correction which basically says the Eastern Idaho […]
“We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Feasibility Study”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BOISE CITY, IDAHO: Section 1. That the City of Boise supports the resumption of Amtrak’s inter-city passenger rail service through Boise at the earliest feasible date to serve the citizens of Idaho’s capital city and the region. Boise’s Team Dave is […]
“No Fact” Train Rally Held At Depot
Two politicos and a chamberman staged a train buff rally at the Boise Depot Monday before a small crowd of enthusiasts and city employees who applauded the arrival of a locomotive and the announcement it was made in Boise. Senior Sen. Mike Crapo, Mayor Dave Bieter and Chamber of Commerce Pres. Bill Connors urged the […]
Can AMTRAK Pay the Freight?
When it comes public rides, it is hard to find anyone opposed to “PASSENGER TRAINS IN IDAHO.” The politicos know this well, so they have asked AMTRAK to conduct some studies about returning train service to Idaho. Senior Sen. Crapo and Mayor Bieter of Team Dave will hold a public hearing at the Boise Depot […]
Bogota, Colombia Adopts GUARDIAN Bus Plan
A reader sent us a link to a NEW YORK TIMES story about the South American City of Bogota, Colombia adopting a plan espoused by the GUARDIAN to establish a “bus rapid transit system” in Boise. Despite the success in other cities and the simplicity of the idea–using buses on a grid route much like […]
Coppers To Increase Scrutiny Of Bike Laws
The Boise Depot became a motion picture set Wednesday when as many as 200 cyclists showed up as extras for a a public service announcement (PSA) produced by Cable One. The big name of course was local Olympian Kristin Armstrong. Along with a cast including a politico, paramedic, fireman, construction worker, and others, she made […]
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