ACHD's Road Wizard
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Pedestrian improvements coming for Royal Boulevard at Boise State University; Road Wizard on Facebook and angry post about traffic calming near 36/Hill/Catalpa intersection; who fixes sunken pavement patch on Braemere Street in Boise?
The Road Wizard Replies
Dear Road Wizard: I just wanted to send you a quick message about all the pedestrian traffic coming from Boise State University trying to get to Lusk Street off of 9th/Capitol. Every day when school gets out, there are a handful of kids who try to run across Capitol and 9th to get to Royal Boulevard (where the new off-campus apartments are). Yesterday I almost hit two of them and had to swerve. Is there a way to alleviate this or are there plans to put in a crosswalk?
Vero
Road Wizard:
Royal will have a very different look after ACHD extends the road across 9th to Capitol. There will be crosswalks at the new Royal intersections. Work is scheduled to begin in May and should finish before fall classes start.
As for now, "no crossing" signs are posted and there is a much safer route: the Greenbelt! The path travels under 9th and Capitol and is near the apartments. ACHD will ask the Boise Police Department to watch for jaywalkers.
Dear Road Wizard: Why don't you have a Facebook account and answer questions online as well? I think it would be cool, and a lot more people would see it. I no longer get the paper, so finding my answer is sometimes a bit sketchy!
Jackie
Road Wizard:
Wizards growing up in my day used scrolls to spread the news. How times have changed. The Road Wizard is primarily a newspaper column, but readers can find it posted online on ACHD's website. I do occasionally "Facebook" and watch for road-related discussions. A recent angry post questioned ACHD's usage of small white barriers, sometimes referred to as candlesticks, in north Boise.
The sticks are related to the roundabout construction at the 36th/Hill/Catalpa intersection. While work is underway, drivers are likely to use surrounding neighborhood roads as alternative routes. In response to concerned residents, ACHD installed the candlesticks on Hawthorne, Tamarack and Sycamore drives, as well as on 39th Street.
The sticks are a low-cost alternative to adding the 20 temporary speed bumps that would be needed to effectively slow the extra traffic on the four roads. The sticks act as road "islands" and force drivers to reduce their speeds as they weave around the candles. The placement may also require yielding to oncoming traffic if two vehicles arrive at the same time. It's enough to convince some thru drivers to go elsewhere, leaving the roads to the actual residents.
The candlestick solution may be equally annoying to homeowners, and ACHD will watch to see how drivers are adjusting. One nice thing about candles, they are easy to blow out, or in this case, remove altogether.
Dear Road Wizard: I sent an email to United Water/Suez a week ago. They acknowledged receipt but there has been no follow-up. So, perhaps I should have brought it up with ACHD instead? Or, perhaps the road surface meets accepted standards and I'm just too picky.
Scott
Road Wizard:
It never hurts to ask the Road Wizard, and ACHD took your concern to Suez.
Scott's original email to the water company was about a temporary pavement patch on Braemere Road in Boise that resembled a pothole. Suez crews had dug into the road, then did a temporary patch with a "cold" asphalt mix. Suez will return to do a permanent, hot asphalt patch once the weather warms.
Have a Question for the Wizard?
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Road Wizard
3775 Adams St.
Garden City, ID 83714
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