Transportation
Cycles And Cars: Watch Out For Each OTher!
BY STEVE HULME Two-wheel season is upon us again! As the days get longer and the temperatures warmer, bicycles and motorcycles come out of winter storage, and fair-weather riders take to the highways and byways. Cyclists (both bi- and motor-) are vulnerable creatures, compared to their brothers and sisters who choose car transportation. Those tons […]
GUARDIAN Reader Seeks Second Opinion
Calling himself “Boise Cynic,” a long time GUARDIAN reader has taken it upon himself to seek a 2nd opinion on how downtown Boise should be managed with regard to traffic, pedestrians, and bikes. BY BOISE CYNIC Request to ACHD, Boise City, CCDC and/or BSU: Please pay for urban planner Robert Bruegmann to come to Boise […]
Apply Emergency Brakes To Train Obsession
It used to be amusing to poke fun at Team Dave’s latest gimmick for a train, trolley, street car, etc. Now its time to derail this fantasy once and for all. The current topic is yet another round of consulting, planning, etc. for what amounts to a “cargo transit center.” The idea is to create […]
Is Air Guard A Job Mill Or Defense Unit?
A Potential cost-saving plan by the U.S.Department of Defense to move the Idaho Air National Guard from Boise to Mountain Home Air Force Base is drawing flak from politicos. Mayor Dave Bieter told the Daily Paper the plan was “puzzling”and made no sense. It makes sense to the GUARDIAN. What doesn’t make sense is to […]
Is Boise Losing “Small Town” Flavor?
With all the pressure Boise’s Team Dave is putting on the Ada County Highway District, Urban Renewal, Autitorium District, and Valley Transit, we growthophobes have to conclude their efforts are aimed at justifying a TROLLEY through urban growth. While they try to make a case for trains, trolley, street car or circulator there seems to […]
Bulging Boise’s Bungled Building Boom
At the risk of posting another typical “growthophobe” story, we offer up a major caution in the rush to embrace the Gardner folks’ latest plan for downtown Boise. As wise businessmen, they are gathering as much public funding as possible to build on some pretty small plots adjacent to the Grove Hotel and the U.S. […]
Bench Residents Ignored By Bike Plan
Boise City and Valley Transit plan to spend at least $650,000 in equipment and “stations” to start a 140 bike share program which ignores the vast majority of the city and its citizens. But hey, when you are talking $4,642 per bike you can’t trust them to those lower income Bench Dwellers. We need a […]
Transit Center Heads Underground
If Valley Regional Transit and Capital City Development Corp. (CCDC) get their way, Boise’s highest and lowest structures will be at the same downtown intersection of 8th and Main. That is the latest planned location for a “multi model transportation center,” but this time they are looking at hiding the bus station underground diagonally across […]
Boise Coppers Give More Than Tickets To Bikers
Following up on a GUARDIAN post in October, Boise Police are now stopping bicyclists without lights. Rather than pass out expensive tickets, the officers will be offering a safety briefing and FREE lights to make the cyclists more visible. Coppers joined ranks with the Ada County Highway District to provide the temporary lights which are […]
Up And Down With BOI
First we get news the Boise airport is ranked #7 in a poll of some sort by a travel magazine. On time departures seemed to be the reason for the national ranking. GOOD NEWS! Then, the same day we hear the airport is turned down for a $700,000 grant from the Feds to get flights […]
Illuminating Idea Could Save Bike Riders Lives, Offer Coppers Chance To Issue More Than Tickets
The GUARDIAN has posted numerous stories promoting bike safety and invariably the comments turn to “Bikes vs Cars.” We don’t know any car drivers who want to hit bikers, but we sure see a lot of bikers who simply disregard their own safety. In nearly 50 years of working and living in Boise we have […]
Boise Wins Political “Hockey Game” 3-2
Boise City’s Team Dave won a “hockey game” at Wednesday’s Ada County Highway District meeting where the issue of embedding hockey puck-like parking sensors in the street was discussed. In the end it was 3-2 in favor of allowing the pucks, but not before ACHD chair Sara Baker got in a few high stick swings […]
Cop Cars: How Many How Much?
OPEN LETTER TO THE BOISE MAYOR AND COUNCIL Dear Mayor and Council, With the Boise City budget pending final approval and police union negotiations approaching, we thought it was a public benefit to check on the Boise Police vehicle fleet and the “take home car” policy. The police budget accounts for 34% of the entire […]
Iron Man Good For Some Businesses, Traffic Nightmare
Several tales of “you can’t get there from here” over road closures due to the Iron Man event Saturday have reached the GUARDIAN. We would like to hear your take on it. Anything from delayed trips to the market, increased business at your restaurant or hotel, to cost for coppers. Who benefits, who suffers? Are […]
Reader: Motorcyclists Should Pay $40, Forget The Ride
GUARDIAN reader Erico49 sent us a self-described rant today after a weekend of hearing Rolling Thunder along Interstate 84. He also sent a copy to the Idaho Transportation Department. “I question whether it’s a good idea to slow down traffic on the Interstate for 50 miles twice in one day with a caravan of motorcycles–regardless […]
Visit To Downtown Boise Can Have Hidden Costs
The GUARDIAN would never put forth a conspiracy theory about charging for on street parking to garner support for a trolley or to force motorists to use parking garages, especially when the parking people at City Hall say the intent is to merely create “turnover” between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Its all part of […]
Transit Center Derailed Before First Spade Of Dirt Is Turned
Valley Regional Transit has joined the ranks of Team Dave when it comes to getting the proverbial cart before the horse. VRT is sending out press releases saying the agency is moving forward on a downtown “Multi-Modal Transit Center” and solicits a private partner on the project. All this despite the owner of the land–Idaho […]
Boise Has No Authority For Trolley
Looks like that pesky IDAHO CONSTITUTION has gotten in the way of Team Dave once again. Mayor Dave Bieter is set to ask the City Council Tuesday for funds for yet another street car, trolley study. What he should be doing is sucking up to the ACHD Commishes because that group holds ALL the cards […]
Boise Council Wisely Approves State Garage
With the state of Idaho’s legal ax hanging over its head, the Boise City Council used some wisdom and approved a parking garage to built by the state near the Capitol Building. As predicted in a February POSTING “higher authority” prevailed over the over zealous design review committee. Council President Maryanne Jordan publicly spanked the […]
ACHD Has App To Report Street Issues
While they haven’t issued shovels to motorists yet, ACHD has a new app for electronic devices which allows drivers to report issues electronically–as long as they don’t text and drive. Now you can connect to the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) and report roadway issues from your smartphone. We took a look at it and […]
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