ITD opposing ACHD proposal on Chinden Boulevard

A state agency is at odds with hopes for a pedestrian crossing on Chinden Boulevard in the heart of Garden City.

Last summer, the Ada County Highway District landed a $5 million grant from the federal government to plan and design ten and a half miles of filling-in sidewalk gaps, low-stress bike routes, sidewalk ramps and signals to help pedestrians cross busy streets in Garden City and on the Boise Bench.

ACHD celebrated landing the grant with fanfare, but it’s since hit a snag due to the Idaho Department of Transportation’s opposition to a dedicated pedestrian crossing near the intersection of 43rd Street and Chinden Boulevard. The five-lane road serves as a local road, bringing residents up and down the length of Garden City, but it is also a state highway, giving the agency the final say on the crossing.

The highway district proposed a pedestrian hybrid beacon, which is specifically designed to help pedestrians cross high-traffic roads in the middle of city blocks, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

ACHD says this crossing is key to creating a safe connection on Chinden, which has no dedicated crossing point for more than a mile. They say a pedestrian beacon would link residents living on the western side of Chinden and the Boise Bench with schools, businesses and the Boise Greenbelt on the east end of the busy roadway. However, ITD objects because of it being within a quarter mile of the signalized intersection of Curtis Road and Chinden and the heavy traffic flowing through the area.

“ITD has expressed concern over the operations at 43rd Street, given the high volume of traffic on Chinden and nearby at the Chinden/Curtis intersection,” agency spokesman John Tomlinson told BoiseDev, noting ACHD recently improved sidewalks up to Ustick Road. “ITD suggested moving the project to 32nd or 34th Street. ITD looks forward to working with ACHD as we focus on the safe operation and clear connectivity of this vital corridor for all users.”

COMPASS, the metropolitan planning organization for the Treasure Valley collected public input on the possibility of moving the pedestrian crossing from 43rd Street to 32nd Street to accommodate ITD. Just over half of the 108 commenters were against the idea of moving the crossing to 32nd and 38% percent were in favor.

A meeting between ACHD, ITD and other interested groups in the area is planned for this month to try and iron out the project. It would be the first crossing of its kind on Chinden.

ACHD originally proposed 43rd Street as a location for the crossing, but proposed switching the location to 44th Street to placate ITD.

But, even moving the crossing a street away from the Curtis Road intersection still was not a suitable solution for the state highway agency. ITD’s District 3 Engineering Manager Jason Brinkman wrote to ACHD on April 7 expressing concerns about the crossing, largely due to the possibility of cars stacking up into the crossing from the Curtis Road intersection.

“This would result in pedestrian users of the (crossing) having to navigate traffic queued cars and trucks on either side of the PHB crosswalk location, or perhaps across and blocking the PHB crosswalk location,” Brinkman wrote in an email obtained by BoiseDev. “That condition is still present as modeled with the proposed (crossing) at 44th Street, albeit to a slightly lesser degree.”

Brinkman said ITD is also concerned about the crossing impacting the flow of traffic through the area, particularly on weekends if the signal is coordinated to try and reduce traffic delays. He said there could be some coordination of the signal to cut down on these impacts, but that would “erode confidence in the device for its intended purposes.”

His email also brought up other concerns, such as “the inability to forecast” demand for pedestrians and cyclists crossing in the area, a “lack” of developments drawing pedestrians near the crossing and “broader pedestrian and bike network planning.” Instead, he suggested an alternate location as much as a mile to the west up Chinden.

“In the process of contemplating this (crossing) location, we have come to see potential for (pedestrian hybrid beacon crossings) atalternate locations within Garden City,” Brinkman wrote. “We believe that potential crossing locations such as 32nd Street and/or 38th Street are free from the safety concerns at 43rd or 44th, and would be morelikely to meet the broader objectives for desirable crossing locations.”

ACHD and a nearby charter school disagree with ITD and are urging them to allow the crossing, citing pedestrian safety in the area and foot traffic from the Boise Bench to the Greenbelt.

On May 24, all five ACHD commissioners signed a letter to ITD encouraging them to change their minds about the project. The letter said a crossing specifically at 43rd was identified in community planning documents as far back as 2016 due to its location between the Boise Bench, the greenbelt, multiple schools, parks and the Garden City Boys and Girls Club location.

The crossing is also envisioned as a key part of ACHD’s planned improvements paid for by the federal grant. ITD blocking the crossing would not block the entirety of the grant’s work, but it would hamper the larger vision for the area because the plans for where additional bike and pedestrian facilities could go were based on having a new crossing on Chinden in that specific location.

The letter said Chinden Boulevard is a “major barrier” for people who live and work in the area, noting the 1.5-mile stretch between Kent Street and Curtis Road has no controlled crossings for those traveling by foot or by bike.

“Anyone who travels to this area on a regular basis often sees pedestrians and bicyclists darting across the road and standing in the center turn lane attempting to reach destinations along Chinden Boulevard, Adams Street, and the Boise River,” the letter said. “lt is a known safety risk amongst diverse partners. The foreseeable consequences of death and injury here are a key component of prioritizing a crossing and persuaded the FHWA to awardACHD the RAISE grant.”

Heather Dennis, the executive director of Anser Charter School on 42nd Street, also is imploring ITD to approve the crossing. She told BoiseDev in an interview adding a crossing would help improve safety for the roughly 500 students enrolled at Anser, as well as reduce the school’s traffic impact on the neighborhood.

She said when planning pedestrian crossings it’s important to take into account that children do not make the same decisions based on risk adults might. If a child either walking or biking down from the Boise Bench near 43rd needs to cross Chinden, she said they will likely not be motivated to travel ten or fifteen minutes down to the intersection with Curtis Road to cross the busy road.

“Just from our perspective, my primary responsibility is the safety of children and from my perspective that should be the primary focus for everyone,” she said. Children before cars is how I see it.”

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