Transportation
Eagle-Fairview Center of Universe
Ada County Highway District car counters have rereleased their tally for 2014. No one is surprised there are more cars per hour and the center of the universe has moved to Eagle Road.
Uber Cars No-Risk Scam Hurts All
Imagine the GUARDIAN giving Boise City a shoutout on New Year’s Day! We have to give Team Dave an “attaboy” for telling the pushy folks at Uber Cars to stop playing taxi without proper insurance, license, inspection, etc. While some folks like the “app” appeal of hiring unknown drivers and cars over the internet with […]
Mass Transit Needs Masses, Too Expensive
Ron Harriman is a guy who tends to use science and math to make his points. Here is his take on recent calls for a TRANSIT SYSTEM in the Treasure Valley. By Ron Harriman My research has led me to conclude that in a basically rural area, transit fares will only cover 8% of the […]
Are Ability AND Integrity Impossible For Politicos?
We often hear the lament, “I am not voting because it is always the lesser of two evils.” A story in the Saturday DAILY PAPER by reporter Katy Moeller seems to enforce the evil issue. Seems that Ada Coroner Candidate Dotti Owens “forgot” about criminal charges for fraud and a bankruptcy when she completed a […]
Bieter Said To Be After ACHD Director’s Hide
A recent IDAHO STATESMAN story by reporter Cynthia Sewell seems to confirm the trend of Boise Mayor Dave Bieter to be a behind-the-scenes power broker for local governments outside the purview of Boise City. According to the report in the DAILY PAPER, Ada County Highway District commission candidate Bob Bruce told a public forum last […]
Bieter Insiders Promote Gypsy Cab Scheme
The lobbying firm, “Strategies 360,” with a local office run by newly elected Boise School Board member Brian Cronin, has a special service to offer it’s apparent new client Uber. That “special service” is ACCESS to city officials on behalf of the new gypsy cab scheme which debuted Thursday in Boise. It doesn’t take much […]
Boise Councilor Seeks To Squeeze 10′ 3″ Bus Into 10′ Traffic Lane
At the risk of sounding too logical the GUARDIAN questions how Boise City Councilor Maryanne Jordan plans to squeeze a 10 foot 3 inch wide city bus into a 10 foot traffic lane. In a recent letter to the ACHD, she asserted 10 feet was plenty of room for traffic lanes. The question arose after […]
After $600,000 Study, Street Car Still Flunks
Like the perpetual college student, Boise’s attempt at a transport system for Downtown is long on study and short on finding a job. The so-called “Circulator” (also dubbed “Desire Named Street Car and Trolley Folly”) has been the dream of Mayor Dave Bieter and his “Team Dave” for a decade while it serves as a […]
SkyWest Will Lease City-Financed Structure Tax-Free
The GUARDIAN confirmed Tuesday that SkyWest Airline will lease a planned $23 million maintenance facility tax-free from the city of Boise. This means Boise Schools, City of Boise, Ada County, and ACHD will forego an estimated $380,000 in taxes on the city financed project EVERY YEAR! Thanks to a constitutional amendment passed three years ago, […]
ACHD Road Budget Set For Approval
The Ada County Highway District is holding the line on taxes and plans to approve the upcoming $97 million budget at an August 26 meeting. Here are some highlights for 2015 projects: –Avenue E, South End to West 4th Street – $226,000 – Build sidewalks, bike lanes, and curbs and gutters to fill gaps and […]
New GUARDIAN Banner Photo
After years of sticking with the same picture for the banner, the GUARDIAN has caved to reader suggestions and updated the image above. While the old photo was what we liked about Boise–a clean view of the foothills over the downtown–the new one is much more compact, thanks to the intent of local politicos and […]
Engineering Consultant Runs For ACHD Seat
Bob Bruce of Eagle has announced a run at the Ada County Highway District seat being vacated by John Franden and sought by Paul Woods. The district covers Boise’s north end and Northwest Ada County. Looks like he has plenty of creds. Bruce is a former Eagle Sewer District Board Member, Boise Metropolitan Chamber of […]
BOI Could Build $30M SkyWest Facility
We would eagerly welcome a $30,000,000 investment by regional airline SkyWest to build a maintenance facility in Boise as announced by Mayor Dave Bieter Friday. Taxes on a $30 million structure could amount to more than $500,000 a year for Boise Schools, ACHD, Ada County, and Boise City. But it is unlikely it will happen. […]
Government Give Aways–Impossible Dream
However well intended, we have a serious problem with fee deferrals, job training credits, landing fee waivers, and all other forms of “corporate welfare.” With promises of “stimulate the economy” along with “job creation” businesses are scamming local, state, and federal government agencies. The GUARDIAN recently filed a public records request with the airport to […]
ACHD Joins Boise In Gardner Fee Defferal
One thing Boise and Ada County Highway District officials seem to be able to agree upon is special treatment for the Gardner Development Company. Boise fees of about $500,000, and ACHD impact fees of between $1.2 million and $1.4 million are due before Gardner is allowed to occupy its a two-building, office/retail/parking/convention project, atop an […]
Boise City Governance Based On Power Plays
There are many factors at play with regard to the debate over the bike lane experiment which goes beyond a simple “car vs bike” issue. We support the “wait and see” attitude of the ACHD. The agency which maintains and manages 2,100 miles of streets in Ada County has not ruled against accommodating bikes in […]
Who Will Pay For Airline Welfare In Boise?
Boise’s Airport (BOI) is asking the City Council for approval of even more welfare for airlines in addition to the $100,000 waiver of landing fees for the first year of new service routes. Now, they want to give away ticket counter space and parking with the hope such a discount program will encourage an airline […]
Letter To ACHD Leaves Little Doubt
The following letter was one of the thousands received by the Ada County Highway District regarding the bike lane experiment currently underway. The Boise City Council is the motivating force behind the experiment and ACHD is conducting the survey as well as switching the traffic patterns. While “little congestion” has been encountered, it should be […]
Bikes vs Car Lanes Remains Undecided
UPDATED POST 5/22/14 Boise’s City council has passed a resolution asking to make the bike lanes permanent. The ACHD has offered to revisit any decisions at a June 4 meeting. A KBOI radio’s Nate Shelman launched a “no” campaign which triggered a big turnout of bike advocates at the ACHD Wednesday meeting. We noticed Capitol […]
Simplot, Gardner Projects Differ In Funding
The announcement by the J. R. Simplot Company to build a nine story headquarters at 11th and Front while Gardner plans a new project at 8th and Main brings to mind the differences in funding. Simplot’s project won’t depend on public money like the Gardner project which depends of lots of public money–just for the […]
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