ACHD's Road Wizard
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Planned rebuild of the Cloverdale Road overpass advances road widening on either side of the damaged structure; "No Parking" signs placed on popular Boise River access on Warm Springs Avenue near the intersection of Windsong Drive.
The Road Wizard Replies
Dear Road Wizard: Wow, I had a white-knuckle bicycle ride on Cloverdale Road going north between Victory and Overland roads. The paved shoulder is practically non-existent and the fog line goes through some awful potholes with no way to avoid them but to ride in the traffic lane. Going south isn't much better. Are there any plans to improve this stretch of Cloverdale? The traffic just increases the closer into town one gets. Many of the intersections have been redone which is wonderful but isn't helping if you can't get from one to another. Also the overpass has debris on the shoulder making it difficult for a bicyclist to avoid it with nowhere to go.
Anonymous
Road Wizard:
This question came in before the tragic multi-vehicle crash happened on Interstate 84. There were four fatalities, and the Cloverdale overpass was damaged by the intense fire.
Back then, I was ready to inform readers that widening Cloverdale in this area was not likely to happen for many years because the overpass is only two lanes wide with no room for bike lanes. Any widening of Cloverdale on either side of the overpass would have caused a bottleneck at the bridge, and the Idaho Transportation Department wasn't expected to rebuild the aging structure until 2030 or beyond.
The damage from the crash was enough to require the closure of the overpass to traffic traveling over the interstate. Instead of trying to repair it, ITD has decided to rebuild and widen the structure in the next year. ACHD will widen Cloverdale between Overland and Franklin roads around the same time.
The work will not extend to Victory, but a wider overpass may justify widening that section sooner than the current many-years-away timeline. The improvements between Victory and Overland, which will include bike lanes and sidewalks, will be great, but the story behind the sudden priority is very sad.
Dear Road Wizard: Can you please tell me when and why "No Parking" signs were placed on Warm Springs Avenue near the intersection of Windsong Drive? This has been a river access point for my entire life. Fishing, surfing and other river access is now cut off because you can't park at this point. I am disappointed. Please let me know why and if there is anything we can do to get this changed. Maybe allow parking on the river side only?
Jennifer
Road Wizard:
Boise and the surrounding area continues to grow, which has put more demand on this informal Boise River parking area. The parking was on a narrow strip of dirt shoulder between Warm Springs and the Boise River Greenbelt.
Ada County Parks and Waterways became concerned about the increase in parked vehicles and people trying to squeeze into the shoulder area by parking too close to the Greenbelt. Side view mirrors and recreational equipment were observed reaching over the paved path.
Ada County requested the permanent placement of the "No Parking" signs along Warm Springs between Windsong toward the Warm Springs Golf Course. Parking space has also been lost on the other side of the street where a new housing development project is underway.
There is an official public parking area about a quarter mile downstream at the golf course that provides Greenbelt, river and trail access. But that is going to be a hike to the water for those carrying water toys.
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