ACHD's Road Wizard Sunday, May 08, 2016

Seems unfair, with State getting a yellow arrow and Linder being "left" without. But the key difference here is the lane count, not the speed limit.

There are two left-turn lanes on northbound Linder, and there are safety concerns about using flashing yellow arrows in those types of scenarios (drivers jockeying for position in the yellow arrow lane being one of them). The additional left-turn lane on Linder was constructed a couple of years ago to provide better traffic flow during the evening commute. So far, the no-yellow-arrow compromise has been worthwhile.

Flashing yellow arrow signal devices come standard in a four ball/four arrow format. That makes it easy to someday, or sometimes, provide a left-turn green arrow (although that currently isn't the plan for River and 9th).

Last week Doug also wrote that leaving the Boise library parking lot onto River was "dangerous." I wanted to add to my original response. There was only one reported accident involving the turn in the last five years. A delivery truck in a loading zone blocked the view, and a turning driver struck an eastbound motorist. The turn is frustrating, but not considered high risk.

Actually, ACHD has been busy planning a crosswalk for Arrow Junction and Eckert, however, installing it is much more involved, and expensive, than just painting the pavement.

Street lighting and a pedestrian ramp will also be required at that location of the Boise Greenbelt. Those features weren't included when the city path was constructed. ACHD hopes to install the crosswalk within a couple of years.

As for the Mill Station and Eckert location, it's close enough to the existing crosswalk at Eckert and Warm Springs that a crossing there isn't a high priority based on current pedestrian demand.

ACHD posts the most recent traffic counts on its website. For counts conducted over many years, a formal public records request is generally required, and the form can also be found on the website.